


Dark Dawn

by iSoulatte



Category: Naruto
Genre: ANBU - Freeform, ANBU stuff, Akatsuki Uzumaki Naruto, Assassination, BAMF Uchiha Sasuke, BAMF Uzumaki Naruto, Black Zetsu is a pain, Cheesy, Chill Naruto, Cool Naruto, Danzo is an ass, Death, Everyone Needs A Hug, Everyone is Crazy, Except theyre kinda still bad guys, Family, Family Akatsuki, Family Jinchuuriki, Gaara Needs a Hug (Naruto), Gaara deserves better, Gaara is Bad at Feelings (Naruto), Good Akatsuki (Naruto), Gore, I swear I will kill him in this story., I'm bad at writing, Jinchuuriki - Freeform, Jiraiya is a pervert, Leaf Village - Freeform, Lets not hate on her doe, Lots of plot, Maybe Bmaf Sakura but who knows, Naruto is Bad at Feelings, Naruto is Beautiful, Naruto is Just Naruto, Ootsutsuki clan can fuck off, Orochimaru is an ass, Please Don't Kill Me, Please let me kill him, Please lets kill Danzo, Plot, Root - Freeform, Small fluff, Spy Naruto, Swearing, Tags Are Hard, Uchiha Massacre still happens, Uchiha Sasuke Needs a Hug, Uzumaki Naruto Needs a Hug, Uzumaki Naruto is a Good Friend, Watch Shippuden before reading or else major spoilers, Why do I have tags, blood and shit, but who cares, danzo sucks ass, everyone is sneaky, hes a dick, is this angsty?, kinda has a plot, lets all kill danzo, like really, no beta we die like Jiraiya, no it isnt, not really fluff wither, not that much, so I will, this story makes no sense, why are you here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:20:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 32,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26450995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iSoulatte/pseuds/iSoulatte
Summary: Naruto hasn't been the most loved, and was always left out of the loop for everything that goes on in the Leaf Village. He was young, but old enough to understand the emotions directed at him.FearDreadHateEverything was a nightmare. Staying the way he was is a nightmare. He hated it. He wanted them to see his worth. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴.It was hard. To love a village that hated you.So when a certain group approaches with kind hands and a warm welcome, how could he resist?With his decision Naruto gains one furry friend in his mind, along with a few others.Naruto then disappears for a full week, before returning to the Leaf Village, goals a bit different than before.He would do anything for the Akatsuki.Even betray his own village to do so.
Relationships: It's a Platonic brotherly love, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 34
Kudos: 120





	1. Cries [Prolouge]

**Author's Note:**

> This is cross-posted on Wattpad, under the same name. It's ahead of this, so if you would like to check it out its there. Also, this story is kinda shit and generic. It gets better and it goes on. Have fun reading!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Generic beginning, please stick with me.  
> Typical Naruto being an outcast

**_-_ **

_(Edited on 7/23/2019)_  
_[Second edit on 11/20/2019]_

_-_

_**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~** _

Naruto~ 10 years old  
•<>•<>•<>•  
Konoha

-

"Hey, isn't that the troublesome kid? Che, he's so annoying!"

-  
-

"Why doesn't the Hokage kick him out already?"

-  
-

"Hanako, listen to me, don't go near that person!"

-  
-

"That's the monster!"

-  
-

"You see that boy? That's the one I was talking about. The demon kid."

-

Naruto heard them all speaking. Talking about him. He heard them.

It hurt him. It fueled him with anger he himself didn't understand. Though the people of Konoha didn't physically hurt him, their words did about as much damage to Naruto.

He clenched his fist and started running down the villages street, looking down at the ground, hurrying to get away from everyone. His eyes glinted with anger.

He bit his lip, trying to stop the tears from flowing.

 _Why is is always like this_?

_Why is it always me?_

_Why do they act like that?_

_Why do they look at me that way?_

_I didn't do anything wrong!_

_STOP IT ALREADY!_

He didn't understand at all.

\------------------------------------------

A little while later.....

Naruto sat on the wooden boardwalk next to the river. He stared blankly at the shining water, his reflection staring back at him.

The sky glowed a warm orange-pink as the sun set slowly onto the horizon.

Naruto wrapped his arms around his legs, buried his face into his knees and the tears silently rolled down his face.

_I'll make them respect me!_

_And when I do,_

He looked up with a dark, hateful look in his eyes.

"I'll make all of them pay!" He growled to himself. Tears threatened to spill out as he rubbed then furiously.

Almost a second later, a shadow fell before his eyes, obscuring the light of the water that laid flowed in front of him. Naruto's eyes widened, then turned around to face the person who had approached him.

"So this is where you have been, eh Naruto?"

Standing before him was a smiling Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"What are you doing out here by yourself?" asked the third Hokage, folding his hands behind his back.

Naruto turned his head and went back to staring at his reflection. "I wanted to get to get done fresh air. And to get away from those jerks... So I came here. I didn't know where else to go..." He replied with a grumpy face.

"Oh, I see. So that's it." said Lord third, concerned.

Naruto looked down at his knees. "Why do people hate me so much, Lord Hokage?" He whispered, barely loud enough to hear.

Lord Hiruzen sighed and said to Naruto, "It's not because they hate you. They're afraid of the power within you, Naruto. You're special. That's why the villagers avoid you. People just don't understand yet. I'm sure they will someday. Give them some time."

Naruto dug his fingers into his shirt and gritted his teeth at that statement. His hair fell over his eyes and he stood up quickly. There, he paused for a second before he turned and ran the away towards the other direction, away from Lord third and away from the sunset.

Lord Hiruzen turned around, startled. "Hey! Naruto! Come back here!" He yelled with an outstretched hand. "I know what you're going through--"

"I'm not coming back!" Naruto yelled. "You don't know _anything_!"

He hesitated, then slowly let his arm fall to his side, just as the sun finally set, darkening the sky behind him, the stars gracing the sky.

\----------------------------------------

Naruto rushed through the now moonlit streets of Konoha, running with no purpose or destination.

 _I hate them I hate them I hate them I hate them._ Naruto continuously thought _. I HATE EVERYONE_!

Naruto gradually started to slow down his running, eventually slowing down to a walk. He picked up a pebble and chucked it at a wall. "Aghh!" He let out.

Calming down a little, he shoved his hands into his pocket. Naruto slouched over a little as he slowly made his way home from the lamp-lit streets.

The Kyuubi only silently watched his jinchuriki suffer alone, unable to do anything.

\--

In the shadows lurked a figure, watching Naruto. Seemingly satisfied with what they had seen, the said figure vanished into the dark.

\--------------------------------------

Akatsuki

"I have returned, Pein." Said a young lady with short, purple hair. She wore an origami flower on her hair and a black cloak decorated with red clouds draped over her figure.

She approached a person sitting on a throne - like chair.

"So how was he like, Konan?" Asked Pein. His purple eyes was filled with black circles, and was wearing the same cloak as the girl. He had orange, spiky hair, with multiple black rods sticking out in different spots on his body. He rested his head on a fist, arm propped up by the armrest on the chair.

She looked at him straight in the eyes, "he was really interesting to watch. That boy has a lot of hate and resentment towards the Leaf. I think we can get a bit of information him. Then we can take the Kyuubi." she said.

The man named Pein remained silent for a moment. "I believe that we should get him to join the Akatsuki so that we can get intel more easily on the Leaf village. That also means keeping the jinchuriki close at hands. And It'll make our jobs much easier."

He stood up. "Konan, I want you to send someone over there and inform him of this. Get him to join our side."

Konan remained expressionless, but her voice said otherwise. "You really want the nine tail jinchuriki to join our side?"

"I want him to join us willingly. Not having him willingly join will be our downfall. It won't be a situation I want to deal with. How about the other eight jinchuriki? Did you locate some of them?" Pein said.

Konan shook her head. "We've only managed to locate the nine tails because the kid doesn't know how to keep his presence hidden. The other eight seems to have had training to contain their bijuu."

Pein sighed. "Okay. Focus on finding the other jinchuriki for now. Tell this to the other members of the Akatsuki. Reporte any findings when you get any leads."

Konan nodded. "I will."

Konan walked out the room and saw Itachi on her way out.

Itachi's eyes followed her as she walked past him. "Konan."

Konan paused. "What is it, Itachi?"

He glared at Konan's back with his sharigan. "I heard you talking about a kid from the Leaf"

"Yes, we were." She replied, not really sparing him a glance.

"Do you really plan on using him as a spy?" Itachi asked, almost annoyed.

Konan finally looked behind her. "Not use. We're going to work with him. We'll invite him to join the Akatsuki."

Itachi turned around, also facing Konan. "Isn't he a bit too young?" He said.

Konan fully faced Itachi. "No one is too young to have a home."

Itachi's widen a bit. "A home?"

Konan turned away. "Yes, we will give him a proper home, somewhere away from the Leaf Village."

"Frankly, he hated them. I want to help him. He can help us as well."

Itachi frowned as he watched Konan walk away.

\---------------------------------------

Naruto sat in the darkness of his bedroom, thinking about what the Hokage had said to him.

When he thought of it, he felt anger boiling in the bottom of his guts. He clutched his stomach and flopped onto the bed.

Naruto's face scrunched up as he thought about he leaf's villagers.

_I hate them_

_**So you hate them as well don't you, Naruto?** _

Naruto's eyes snapped open and sat up. _What was that?_

**_What was what?_ **

_There it is again!_

"Who's there?!"

_**Calm down kit, it's only me.** _

"Who are you?!"

_**Quiet Naruto. Someone's coming.** _

Just as he said that, the people arrived.

Black Zetsu appeared with Konan at his side, in front of Naruto. Konan stared down at him on his bed, as Naruto stared back at her.

"Who are you people?" Naruto stood up on his bed. "Why did you come?"

_**Those are the people who are after my power, Naruto. They want you because I'm sealed inside of you.** _

_You're WHAT?_

_**Let's save that for later, but I think we should focus on the enemy.** _

Konan Look Naruto straight into his eyes. With the moonlight shining onto the three of them, it created an eerie moment.

Konan broke the silence with a question.

"Naruto, do you want to help the Akatsuki?"

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise the story gets better, this is pretty crap but I can't bring myself to add more to it to make it better;-;


	2. Conflicted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto doesn't know what to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written over a year ago. wow  
> Prepare yourself for another episode of crap.

**[Edited 5/23/2020: There is a bit of plot hole fixing here so if you are a new reader, hurrah, you don't have to suffer through the plot holes and I now have a more solid base]**

(Prologue pt 2)  
 _ **~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**_

Konoha

"Help the Akatsuki?" Naruto asked. "Why do you want me? What is the Akatsuki anyways?"

Konan stood still, not making a move. "We Akatsuki are the peace bringers that work in the shadows. We would like your help, Naruto. It would be most appreciated."

Naruto looked suspiciously at Black Zetsu and Konan. "Who are you then? Why should I trust you guys?"

Black Zetsu tilted his head a bit. "You ask who I am, huh? I'm known as Black Zetsu. I'm something of a communication specialist."

"My name is Konan. We want to help you too, Naruto. We want to give you a proper home. Away from the Leaf. A place you can truly call home."

That surprised Naruto. He scooted back a little and asked with more trusting eyes. "Why would you do this for me?"

Konan sighed and closed her eyes. She opened her eyes and said "It's because we sympathize with you. We can understand what you're going through. You're an orphan, just like me."

Naruto squinted his eyes a bit, and then looked down at this knees. " Let me think about this. Give me some time..." Naruto laid down on his bed.

"As you wish." Konan said."I'll be waiting at the gates at 11:00 at night for two nights until you come and give me an answer. Until then, please don't tell anyone of our encounter." Then she disappeared in a flurry of paper as Black Zetsu sunk into the ground. "I'll inform Lord Pein about all that has happened."

\------------------------------------

Akatsuki

Pein sat in his chair, propping his elbows on the armrest and leaning against his fist. Zetsu had just told him about Naruto's response.

"So that's how it is, huh...." Pein got up from his chair. "Give him two days. We'll go back after that to see what his answer is."

Zetsu nodded. "Will do."

\--

Sasori and Deidera walked up to Konan. Deidera shoved his face towards hers. "So what was the hurry to summon us all here like that, huh?"

Konan looked him straight on the eye. "We're going to recruit a new member to the Akatsuki." She said bluntly.

"A new member?" Said Sasori. "We don't need another."

"I'll be telling everyone else about this now. We'll probably be welcoming him in two days, if he accepts so I want us to be here to greet him."

Deidera snapped his attention away from Konan,"Tch."

He turned and walked away.

Sasori turned his head and sighed. "Why am I stuck with that idiot?" Then he left with Deidera.

Itachi stood next to the wall, just a bit behind where Konan was standing. "So you've already asked the boy to join."

"Yes I did." Konan closed her eyes.

Itachi let out a breath. "Are you sure he can handle leaving his home at such a young age?"

Konan looked up. "Like I said before, we're just going to give him a more proper home. We'll protect him. He'll be one of us. We always will take in others like us, no matter how weak."

"No matter what the outside world sees us as, I will always view it as a spot where outcasts reside and live together. Our ultimate goal is world peace. This is also a contributing factor in that. I can see that the people of the village don't treat him well. I will make sure that he feels comfortable here.

Itachi hesitated to respond. Then he replied, "I'll be there if he does come to us."

\--------------------------------------

Konoha

Naruto was pondering Konan's words.  
He was confused on what he should do.

_Should I go? Or should I stay in the Leaf?_

He frowned and clutched his pillow, putting it over his head, letting out a groan. "I don't know what to do!"

**_Do you want me to help?_ **

"I guess you can help me by telling my why you're 'sealed' in me." Naruto grumbled.

_**Would it kill to be a little nicer?** _

"Hmph. Whatever"

**_We'll, have you ever heard of the nine tailed demon fox that attacked the Leaf Village over decade ago?_ **

"Of course! Actually, I haven't really heard everything, but I kinda know the general story." Naruto said. "Why?"

**_To put I simply, Naruto, I am that demon fox._ **

Naruto showed no signs of surprise. "I figured as much... "

**_Naruto, I was sealed in you the day you were born. Your father was the one to seal me away._ **

Naruto paused. "My father? Wasn't the fourth Hokage and his wife the ones who died bringing down the demon fox?"

A moment passed as Naruto process what he had just said. ".....oh... My dad is the fourth Hokage huh... " He smiled. "I can't help but feel kinda happy..."

Naruto frowned. "But if you're the nine tails, why are you being so nice to me?"

_**Because back then, I was being controlled! And since I'm stuck with you, might as well get along, right?** _

Naruto smiled. "You're one of the only friends I've ever made so far. Do you have a name you'd like me to call you by?"

 _ **You want to know my name? Well...you're not at all like the past**_ _**jinchuuriki. Interesting**_

"I don't care about whether or not I'm like the past jinchuuriki! So what is it? What's your name?"

**_Kit, call me Kurama._ **

\-------------------------------------

Hokage's office

Lord Hiruzen stood behind his desk, looking out the windows of his office.  
His hands were behind his back and he sighed. "I wonder what Naruto is doing." He thought back to his talk with him earlier. Naruto had run

Just then, a shinobi ran into the office. " Lord Hokage! We've found traces of unfamiliar chakra at the border! It appears that enemy ninja has penetrated the village barrier and left without being detected!"

Lord Hiruzen twisted around. "What did you say?" Hiruzen clenched his fists. "Now of all times?"

He swung his hands in front of him. "Go and track them! Find out who they are! We must protect the village at all costs!" He turned to anbu who had appeared from the shows. "And all of you, make sure that they have not infiltrated and stolen any sort of information. Thurroughly check every department for any missing files!"

The shinobi bowed their heads. "Right!" And they all disappeared.

Hiruzen went back to looking outside his window. _I've got a bad feeling about this..._

_\--_

"Your name's Kurama."Naruto sluggishly replied.

_**Yes it is.** _

"Even the famed nine tailed beast has a cool name" 

Naruto frowned. "So, what should I do about those sketchy people earlier?"

_**It's all up to you to choose on what you want to do.** _

Naruto let out a breath. "I don't know what to do! Should I listen them or not?"

His face brightened up at a thought. "I know! I can just say that I'm visiting some friends outside of the village! Then I wouldn't have to leave gramps and Ichiraku behind!" He laughed at his own idea and smiled at himself. "That way I don't have to choose anything!"

_**You're forgetting one thing, Naruto.** _

_What?_

_**That you're t** _ _**he Hidden Leaf Village's jinchuriki. They won't let you go that easily. Even if you weren't, letting such a young kid like you walts outside the gate walls won't be allowed unless you are accompanied by someone else. And even if you snuck out, my presence is too big to remain unnoticed. They will know that you are gone if my chakra disappears.** _

Naruto sat in silence for a while in realization. Then he slammed his head into his pillow. "This is so annoying!" Naruto grumbled at the thoughts that flowed in and out of his mind.

Kurama hadn't wanted to disturb the kid so he went back to his own thoughts.

Kurama's mind (Naruto can't hear) ****

_**This kid has gone through enough.** _

_**I wish there were other ways I can help him out...** _

Kurama came to a sudden stop in his thoughts.

 _I'm really getting soft, aren't I?_ A soft grumble came from Kurama ****

_**Damn, since when did I get so soft?** _

_**Well I'm stuck with this right now. Might as well, I guess.** _

_**I'll watch over your kid, Minato.** _

\--

"Hey Kurama, are you there? What do you think I should do? Do you know?" Naruto interrupted. "I mean, you're right...I don't think gramps would let me out the village by myself. I really want to go too!"

_**It's your choice, kit. If you truly want to leave, I would suggest you to stay a day and then decide.** _

Naruto was surprised. "Really? You think I should try?"

*sigh* **Yes I do.**

"Alright then!"Naruto said as he smiled and punched his fist into the air. Then he slowly lowered his arms opened his eyes, revealing a pair of glossed over cerulean eyes.

"Thank you, Kurama."  
•<>•<>•<>•

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story still makes no sense, I promise it gets better.


	3. Convinced

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto has made his decision

(Prologue pt 3)  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Konoha

It was daybreak when Naruto walked out of his house the next morning.

Naruto nervously shoved his hands into his pocket as he walked down the road, more aware of his surroundings than ever.

Naruto shook his head pulled a hand out of his pocket and he looked at his palm.

_I'm going to decide what I'll do by the end of today!_

He clenched his fist.

_Kurama, I'm going to decide what I want to do. Please watch over me_ _. Make sure I'm going down the right path._

Inside the mindscape of Naruto's mind, Kurama smiled.

_**You don't need to worry kit. I've watched over you your while life.** _

Naruto smiled and looked up from his hands.

 _Thank you,_ _Kurama_.

Naruto took off into the streets of Konoha, feeling like he could do anything. _Kurama, you've given me a lot of confidence. You've treated me better than anyone else in my life._ _I owe you one_

_\--_

Naruto hesitantly took a step into the main street.

As he was already expecting, A few seconds later he heard someone talking admist all the noise.

"That kid better not cause any trouble today. I'm so annoyed by him. Why is he still here?"

He looked down at the ground, frustrated. His shoulders shook a bit.

_So it's the same as always._

He continued down his path. _Maybe it's best for me to leave. No one wants me here anyways._

Naruto slumped his shoulders. _Kurama, I think I should go. But is it right to desert my village?_

_**Well, you can still be a source of information of you don't want to leave.** _

_"_ Like a spy?"Naruto inquired.

**_Yes, like a spy. You won't have to leave and you would be helping those Akatsuki people too._ **

Naruto frowned "I guess I could....... Hey Kurama, do you think I am making the right choice?"

**_*Sigh*_ ** _**it's not up to me, kit. This is your choice.** _

Naruto's face showed all kinds of nervousness and hope.

"I still like this village as much as I hate it. When the village does betray me, it wouldn't hurt to get things ready beforehand, right?" Naruto whispered.

"I'll be a spy. I'll help out the Akatsuki and stay in the village."

Naruto closed his eyes. He stopped in his tracks.

_This is my decision._

\--------------------------------

Akatsuki

It was dark out; the moon has risen hours ago.

Konan walked out the front of their base, not too far from the Leaf. There she found Itachi waiting for her.

He was leaning against the wall and his arms was folded against his chest.

"Leaving for the Leaf, right?" Itachi said.

Konan slightly bowed her head. "I told him I would meet him every night until he came to give me his answer. So I'll be going now. If you'll excuse me -"

"I'm coming with you." Itachi interrupted.

Konan paused. "You want to come along? The Leaf was your home, was it not?"

Itachi didn't react to her words. "Yes it once was. But I want to see this kid with my own eyes."

Konan started walking away. "Do what you wish. If you want to come along, follow me." She jumped on to a tree.

Itachi faced her and followed her, jumping from one tree to the next, heading for the Hidden Leaf.

\--

Konoha's Gates

15 minutes later, they arrived at the front gates of Konoha. The guards had already closed the gates and two guards were posted at the front.

"Let's keep the disturbance low. Preferably having no disturbance is nice." Konan said as she stood in a tree, overhead the guards at the gates.

Itachi stood in the bench next to hers. They were covered by the shadows of the trees. "I'm well aware of that." He said.

Itachi looked over at Konan."So all we have to do now is wait for that kid to arrive."

Konan nodded, but didn't reply.

"How is that kid going to meet with us? I can't imagine that without him being found out. What will happen then?" Itachi muttered to Konan. "Do you have a plan in mind?"

Konan closed her eyes. "Yes, of course. I do have a backup plan, but I know that kid is smart enough to at least figure out that he shouldn't be reckless and risk being spotted."

"So you're that sure?" Itachi shifted his attention back at the guards. He activated his Sharigan. "Its been a while since you put so much trust into a new recruit, Konan"

Konan's expression softened. "I can see his heart, his true soul. I can tell

"That's why I trust him."

\-------------------------------------

Inside Konoha

15 minutes earlier

Naruto laid in his bed, with his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling of his room. He turned to his side, looking at his alarm clock.

-10:45pm-

Naruto frowned.

_I wonder what they'll say when I tell them what I want._

**_Don't fret, Naruto. I don't think there's any reason to worry._ **

"What do you mean by that? They're supposed to be the enemies of the Leaf. Should I even be trusting them?" Naruto said, facing his attention to the roof again.

**_I truly think they don't mean any harm. Besides, they seem pretty understanding._ **

Naruto looked dejectedly at the ceiling, thinking back to his memories.

He remembered that one time at the academy. Someone had thrown a mud ball at him when they were outside the school building practicing their kunai throwing. He'd been laughed at the rest of the day.

There was this other time when he walked up to a store to look at the store's products, and the owners threw things at him, and told him that they didn't want him there, he was ruining their business. He got what he wanted right in the face. Everyone around him was looking at him badly and didn't try to help at all.

He hadn't done anything wrong, yet he was treated that way.

Naruto sat up with more determination that before.

-10:50-

_I should probably get going now._

He pulled on his jacket and slipped on pair of goggles he always wore on his forehead. He held a stern face, and looked as if he was ready for anything.

"All right! Let's go Kuama!" Naruto said, determined.

Naruto opened the window and jumped out.

\--

Konoha Gates - Akatsuki

Konan and Itachi had already waited outside the gates for 5 minutes. Itachi had sat down with one leg dangling and one propping his arm. Konan was still standing, with a hand on the tree's trunk. He suddenly tensed, sensing someone coming their way at a fast speed. "He's here, Konan."

Konan nodded, and her face tensed.

A second later, Naruto appeared in front of the two on them, crouched down with a hand in the air and a hand on the ground. He stood up straight. He looked up at then with eyes showing intent of betrayal.

"So I see you have finally decided, Naruto." Konan said.

Naruto's head shifted down a keeping his eyes on Konan.

"I'm going to help you Akatsuki out."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I promise that after chapter 7 everything makes more sense sfjahkd


	4. "Captured" (Arc 0)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They play the Leaf Village pretty hard

Konoha Gates

* * *

"I'll help you Akatsuki out." Naruto said sternly, keeping his gaze fixed on the two.

Neither Konan nor Itachi seemed surprised by his reply. "Is that is your answer? So you wish to join the Akatsuki." Konan smiled slightly. "You've made a wise choice, Naruto."

"Okay then, Naruto, come with us to the Akatsuki base. Follow me. " Konan continued.

Just as Konan and Itachi was about to leave, Naruto yelled "wait!"

Both the Akatsuki stopped, and looked back at Naruto's direction.

"What is it, Naruto?" Itachi asked.

Naruto looked at his feet, hesitating to say anything. He then managed to say, "I don't exactly _want_ to come along with you right now. I don't think I should. "

Itachi's expression hardened a bit. "And what do you mean by that?"

Naruto looked at Itachi's eyes with determination and doubt. "I want to stay here as a spy instead. I don't have to leave the leaf village and I'll still be helping you."

"You want to become a spy?" Itachi asked, surprised. "Why is that?"

Naruto quickly lowered his gaze. "Um... Uh.... I-its.." he clutched his chest, grabbing his shirt. "It's because I don't completely hate the Leaf or love it. I-......I don't think I am ready to leave just yet." He said softly.

Konan was especially surprised _._

 _I see, so that's how it is._ She sighed. _This was_ _what we originally planned anyways._

"I see that this is what you desire." Konan said. "I'm fine with that, but pulling this off requires more time and strategizing. We don't exactly have that kind of time at the moment. We'll take you to the Akatsuki hideout for a few days. Then you can return as a spy."

Naruto stared. He put his hand on his hips and leaned a little bit forward, annoyed. "And how is that different from me just ditching the Village?"

Konan shifted her weight onto her left leg. "We should plan a 'kidnapping' as a ruse to clear away suspicion of your betrayal. We need the time to explain everything."

Naruto frowned. He let out a huff and said "I guess so. How do you plan on doing that?"

"You'll see in the morning."

* * *

Hokage's Office

There were multiple an explosions that suddenly went off in the middle of the village that let out a lot of smoke. Lord Third noticed the smoke rising from the village right away. He paced around his office frantically, waiting for news.

A chunin shinobi ran into a room. He got on a knee. "Urgent report!"

"What's going on here!?" Lord third demanded.

"Lord Hokage! It seems there are attackers that have infiltrated the village and damaging it at this very moment!" He said quickly.

"What's the status report?" Lord Third pushed.

"No casualties, 20 injuries, none fatal." Lord Hiruzen let out a breath of relief. "I see, so no one was killed."

Then giving the situation about bit more thought, he stiffened with sudden realization. "The damage is too small in size, even for an enemy attack with the intent of harm. The enemy must have an alternative objective... But why would they show us that their alternative objective exists? Why make it so obvious?" He pondered.

Then it hit him. The right direction. The right place. The target. He swung around. "You said an apartment building was attacked?!"

"Yes sir!" He replied.

"Damnit!" Lord Hiruzen ran out the door of his office.

The chunin was startled for a moment and got up. "Hey wait!! Lord Hokage-" he chased after Lord Hiruzen.

\--

Naruto's home

When Lord Third saw the scene of the attack, he knew he was right. Walking up to the door, he slowly unlocked it, taking a step inside. Sensing no one's presence, he ran in to Naruto's bedroom, only to find it in a mess; as if there was a fight.

In the chaos of the room, there lay a single letter on the bed.

The Third Hokage picked it up and scanned through the context.

His eyes widen. "This is--!"

.

* * *

In the forest outside the Leaf Village

Two figures were jumping from branch to branch away from the village. Naruto rode on the back of Itachi. Itachi held a passive face expression throughout the trip.

Naruto felt uneasy about the situation. All they really did was set off black smoke bombs. Wouldn't the Leaf be able to track them down?

Naruto frowned. "Are you sure that your plan is gonna to work?" Naruto asked.

Konan replied " no, I'm not completely sure this will work. But if the village thinks you've been kidnapped, it would make the whole situation a lot more easy to work with." Konan looked back at Naruto. "If being a spy is what you want."

"But wouldn't there be pursuers?"

Konan focused her gaze forward again. "We left the Leaf village a long time ago. But to confuse the shinobi just set the smoke bombs off. I'm assuming they have just found the note I've written them. They also don't have a trace of our tracks. They can't follow us."

"W-what if this fails? What if they find out I'm a traitor?" Naruto uttered.

Naruto nodded stayed quiet the rest of the way and they continued towards the Akatsuki base.

* * *

Konoha

Lord Hiruzen sat at his desk, trying to sort everything out in his head.

The Nine Tails. Naruto.

Everything that was going wrong lately in the Leaf Village.

He sighed.

How was he going to fix this huge mess that this had become?

_Flashback no_ _jutsu_

_"_ This is!--" Lord Third stuttered. He clenched the letter in his hand, crushing the paper.

The chunin rushed to his side, a hand om the doorway. "What's the matter, Lord Third? Why'd you suddenly run off like that?" He asked frantically.

"Whew! You sure are fast too, Lord Third." He put his hand on his forehead.

"We have to do something about this. And fast. We don't have much time." Lord Hiruzen started. "At this rate, we'll never be able to find him! Much less track the attackers!"

"What?" The chunin asked, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Send out tracking squad and Anbu and go after the attackers! We must get the hostage back!" Lord Hiruzen ordered.

"Woah, woah, woah! Slow down sir! What was it you're saying?" The chunin waved his hands in front of him.

Hiruzen just strared at the chunin and held out a hand.

Curiously, he held his hand out.

Lord Hiruzen gave him a sheet of paper. The churning took it, confused, and then started reading it in his head.

A ransom note.

_Your beast is ours. Give us $1 000 000 in hard cash if you want him back._

_We will give you a week to get the money. Do the worry, we won't hurt your fox. Be there at the bridge marked on the map._

_We will be there at 11:00pm sharp._

_If you don't do as we say, he dies._

•<><><>•

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is still more of a prologue arc. After chapter 7 its better of a story


	5. Cherished

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto meets the other Akatsuki members.

**(Arc 0 - Captured - pt 2)**

* * *

Akatskui

The small Akatsuki retrieving group, along with Naruto, finally arrived at their Akatsuki base. Naruto climbed off Itachi's back and gawked at the entrance of the base.

"It's so small!" Naruto marveled. "I don't think anyone can find it without knowing exactly where to look." he let out a small laugh, and his smile shined brightly.

_Kurama, I think I'll like living here._

Kurama smiled happily for Naruto. _**I'm sure**_ _ **you'll like it just fine.**_

The edges of Konan's mouth curled up just a bit. _And to think that the Leaf would shun such a young, innocent boy._

Her expression darkened. _And push him over the cliff of betrayal._

The village pushed him to doing this. They made him a traitor.

"Come on, let's go inside. You should meet the other Akatsuki members." Konan ushered Naruto through the small entrance.

\--

What awaited them was a simple housing complex, without too many rooms. It looked like someone built the place knows their own.

 _The tunnels look so complicated to navigate_ Naruto commented in his mind.

He turned to Itachi. "So where am I going to meet the other members of the Akatsuki?"

Itachi's looked down at Naruto. "it's just up ahead," he said, pointing ahead.

"just up ahead?? YEET!! " Naruto cheered as he dashed through the hall.

Itachi was taken aback about how Naruto was acting. Naruto was a lot brighter than Itachi had expected.

He let out a breath and followed Naruto and Konan to where the other Akatsuki were.

\--

Naruto poked around the room where he was supposed to meet everyone in the Akatsuki. Seeing how grumpy face and paper girl were treating him, he would be okay staying with the Akatsuki.

"I haven't asked them their names yet. I should, when I'm introduced to every member of the Akatsuki!" he said, excited.

Just then many people dressed in the same black cloak Konan and Itachi was wearing.

He felt jittery inside. Naruto ran over to then and climbed all over them.

"hey, what's up with that hairstyle?" Naruto laughed. "That's a big bendy scythe! It looks weird. Why's that mask only have one hole? Where's the other side? Why are you so hunchbacked what's up with your eyes? Are you a fish or human?"

He jumped from back to back of the Akatsuki members asking a lot of questions.

Finally, after a minute, Deidara grabbed him and put naruto down. "is this the new brat?! He is so annoying!" he complained. 

Hidan sighed. "can't help it, he's still a member. There must be a reason why Pein would want to recruit this annoying kid."

"Stop being annoying Deidara."said black Zetsu. "We're here to welcome him. "

Zetsu turned to Naruto. "let's start with an introduction, shall we?" he said, with a slightly hoarse voice. "as you already know, I am known as Black Zetsu." he smiled creepily.

_Scary..._

Deidara spoke up "I'm called Deidara, the explosions expert!! "

_It's funny hair dude._

Naruto seemed be laughing inside and Deidara felt agitated. "Ugh! Whatever! "

They ignored him and continued introductions.

"I am Kakuzu"

"Hidan."

"Call me Kisame."

"I'm Itachi. I forgot to tell you earlier."

"Tobi is a good boy! " Tobi said cheerfully

"Hurry it up. We're wasting precious time."Said Sasori.

"How about you shut it, Sasori? You're the one wasting time here!" Hidan said agressively.

"And I have told you my name already. I'm Konan."she smiled warmly. "Welcome to the Akatsuki."

Tobi ran up to him, running from side to side. "Yay! Tobi likes new members! " he hugged Naruto tight. "welcome!!"

_What the heck this guy doing?_

**_He's a weird one for sure. I don't think I can deal with them. You're on your own Naruto._ **

_No......Kurama.... Please don't leave me... He said desperately, tears streaming down his face, trying to smile._

_(*internal screaming*)_

_Silence._

_Dammit Kurama._

Deidara huffed and turned around. "I still don't like the brat."

Something smashed down on his head, knocking him to the ground, and creating a crater in the ground.

Deidara popped up from the damage. "WHO WAS THAT??" he screamed, agitated.

"You ought to be nicer to a new member." Said a voice from the tunnels.

Pein walked into the light. "It's nice to finally meet you, Naruto. "

Naruto tilted his head. "who the heck are you? "

Pein closed his eyes. "I am Pein. The current leader of the Akatsuki. I'd like to welcome you to the Akatsuki as well."

Naruto's eyes widened. "You're the leader? That's so cool!"

"well it looks like you're having fun. How do you like the Akatsuki so far? What's your first impression?" Pein asked.

"hmm... Well let's see..... A bunch of weirdos? Yeah that's right!" Naruto said, arms crossed with a grin on his face.

"What did you say, you punk?!?!" Deidara yelled at Naruto, while Kakuzu held him back. "Settle down Deidara."he said sternly.

Naruto's smile brightened with that statement. "I think I'll really like it here!"

* * *

Hokage

"We have no choice but to wait for the abductors at the bridge! There are no other leads on to where the Nine tails was taken!" Lord Third said.

"But sir! We should still form a search party! There's a chance we can locate the enemy!" Said Kurenai, one of the many Jounin in the Hokage's office.

"That is simply out of the question and reckless! It's because we have no leads that we cannot go looking for Naruto! We shouldn't go searching without a single clue of who the enemy are! For all we know, we could be walking straight into a trap!" Hokage said with a tone of finality.

"And what exactly makes you think that we won't be strong enough to beat the enemy? " Guy demanded.

The Hokage sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I have a bad feeling about this... "

* * *

Akatsuki base

"so you'll be staying for about a week before returning to Kohona." said Pein. He sat down in a chair. "the point of us bringing you here was to get you away from Konoha. We know what the Leaf has done to you. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Naruto nodded confidently. "Yes, I am sure. I'll report back to you every once in a while. I want this for me."

Pein took a good, long look at Naruto. _That kind of thinking is awfully mature for his age. So I see this is what living in the leaf triggered._ Pein thought.

"If that is what you want. I have nothing against that. We will assist you when you need it. For now, for the time you are here, have fun, and we'll train you." Pein said. "Konan, if you don't mind, show him the bedrooms here . Let him choose the room he'd like to be in."

Konan smiled warmly "Come, Naruto. The bedrooms are this way."

Naruto happily followed Konan out the room. _I made the right choice, coming with the Akatsuki._

•<>•<>•<>•

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cringe at my own writing, and I have no idea what I was thinking writing this. Hope I can complete this story lmao.


	6. Contradiction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto doesn't want to make the choice.

**(Arc 0 - Captured - pt 3)**  
•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•

Akatsuki

6 days had passed since Naruto had gone to the Akatsuki base. Though it might sound like a long time, it passed quickly for Naruto.

The Akatsuki members helped him train and hone his taijutsu and ninjutsu skills. One time even took him on to a mission during their time together.

Naruto loved the Akatsuki and didn't want to leave the end of the week. He got to know everyone in these short days, and they really warmed up to him.

Tomorrow, Naruto had to leave for the Leaf.

"You know, you could still declare that you are a rouge now, couldn't you? Then you don't have to return to the Hidden Leaf Village." Black Zetsu suggested.

Naruto was wearing an Akatsuki cloak sitting with his legs dangling out on the windowsill of their new base they had recently moved into. Naruto leaned on his hands he put on the edge of the windowsill. He frowned at the suggestion Zetsu had made.

"You know, I could do that. But since this spying mission is for the good of the Akatsuki, I'll do it." Naruto replied.

"It was just and alternative option that was still a choice you can make. "Black Zetsu said.

Naruto smiled slightly. "Thanks for caring, Zetsu."

Black Zetsu tilted his head. "It doesn't matter." He said, before sinking into the ground.

 _Kurama, it's just like Black Zetsu said._ _I could just tell the Leaf I've gone rouge. I'd rather be here than return to the Academy in Konoha. I'm not sure what to do._

**_You said you'd be a spy when you first came to the Akatsuki. You should stick with what you say._ **

Naruto closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. "I want to stick with the Akatsuki no matter what happens. I want to help the Akatsuki." _If this_ benefits the Akatsuki, I should do it. Naruto opened his eyes with determination. _Konoha, I'm coming back_.

•<><><>•

Konoha - Next Day

The Hokage's office was busier than usual days. This was the day to meet their unseen enemy. It was their chance to get a glimpse to their possible future threat, as well as getting their only Jinchuuriki back to the village.

People came and left all day and all that the Hokage was thinking about was the later encounter they would have later in the day.

_We're coming for you, Naruto. So please stay safe. You'll be back soon._

At that moment, Kakashi Hatake walked in the room. He quietly shut the door behind him as he walked in the Hokage's Office.

"So it's going to happen tonight. "Kakashi said eventually, after a short moment of silence.

Lord Third grimaced and placed his head onto his hand, leaning against the table. "We'll be confronting the enemy tonight." his expression so darkened."I was concerned about tracking the enemy because of what they could do. They managed to sneak in undetected twice. How did they do it?"

Kakashi considered his words. "You're saying they have a person strong enough to penetrate the barrier unnoticed? Is that all youre worried about? "

The Hokage frowned. "The day we first discussed this, I felt something. Something felt wrong about this whole situation. That's why I didn't allow pursuers to go after these mysterious enemies."

"Well, we have faced opponents stronger than this. You don't have to always rely on your hunches. We are strong. Have some more faith in us." Kakashi said as he walked out the office. "We are ready to dispatch teams to retrieve the 9 tails. The team will head out on your order."

The door shut.

Lord Third looked at the time. 10:30pm.

Lord Hiruzen sighed. "Time to get going." He stood up from his chair and left the room.

Black Zetsu let some of his head pop out from the wall.

"We should get going too... "

•<><><>•

Konoha Gates

There was a small team that was ready to leave the village, having already gotten their order to go out.

The assembled squad was waiting for their captain to arrive.

"Let's get this over with quickly..." an unnamed shinobi said, author a hand on the back of his head. "Where's the capti'n anyways?"

"I don't know. Probably forgot this mission or something. That sounds like him." another shinobi said.

Kakashi walked up from a distance, heading towards the small group. "hey, sorry I'm late."

"It's about time!"Kurenai huffed. "what took you so long?"

"oh, well, something came up so I took a bit more time." he replied hastily.

Kurenai looked at Kakashi suspiciously and then looked away. "Since you're here now, _captain_ , let's get going."

The small group, composed of Chunnin and Jounin , started running into the forest, heading to the designated point.

•<><><>•

The Bridge

The Akatsuki were already there when the shinobi from Konoha first arrived. They stared down their enemy until Kakashi stepped up from behind the group.

"We're here for the Nine Tails." Kakashi said, directing his words at the Akatsuki with Ki. "And we would like you to give him back, now."

At the other side of the bridge, the only members of the Akatsuki representing them were Kakuzu and Hidan. Kakuzu held onto the bound arms of Naruto, who was unconscious.

The Akatsuki had decided that those two would be the least likely to be recognized and the best people to be put in that exchange.

"yeah yeah, whatever. "Hidan lamented, waking the shinobi off.

Kakuzu held out his hand. "give us the money first." he said slowly.

Kakashi squinted his eye, ready to pull up his headband when he needed. "No. I want us to do this exchange at the same time. We are not completely sure whether or not you'd really give us the kid. We don't trust you yet. " he said angrily.

Kakuzu let out a breath of annoyance. "Here then. Take the kid."

He threw Naruto forward, where he landed hard on the bridge. He didn't budge a bit.

Kakashi was taken aback by that action and took a step back, startled. Then he realized what was going on and ran over to Naruto, gathering his limp body into his arms.

"Fine. I can tell this is the real Naruto, so you can take this. "He threw a suitcase at Kakuzu.

Kakuzu calmly grabbed it and let his arm fall. "we're leaving." He said to Hidan, before disappearing.

Hidan glared at the spot that Kakuzu was at. "Quit bossing me around." then he followed Kakuzu.

Kakashi looked back at a squad member and nodded. The chunnin went after them.

Kakashi stood up and cut the bonds that was holding Naruto's arms together. "There we go, you're back with us again."

The other Jounin were waiting for Kakashi at the other side of the bridge. He walked over to them, along with Naruto.

"Mission accomplished. Let's head back to the Leaf Village."

•<><><>•

Akatsuki  
Hidan and Kakuzu

They jumped from tree branch to tree. "Do you think this will work properly?" Hidan voiced his concern for the plan. "He could be easily found out."

Kakuzu brushed him off. "He'll be okay." Kakuzu said. "Though his safety is not guaranteed, we've gone through some measures to help keep him safe. "

Hidan frowned. "How so? "

"A memory genjutsu Pein had Itachi put on Naruto." Kakuzu answered. "Preventing the Leaf from accessing his memories of the Akatsuki. Naruto will still keep his memories."

"Hmph." Hidan let out. "I hate to admit it, but that's pretty smart of you guys. "

•<><><>•

Konoha

Naruto awoke in a hospital bed.

He stared up at the ceiling, trying to remember what he was doing there and why.

He heard a voice from his bedside. "So you're finally awake, are you?"

Naruto turned his head towards the voice. He was greeted by a masked face. He held a book in his hand.

The man put down his book. "So how are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm fine." Naruto grunted, as he tried to sit up. He rubbed his head. "....What happened to me?"

Kakashi stared at Nartuo. "You -" he began but was suddenly cut off by Naruto.

"WAIT! the Akatsuki!! "He half-yelled into the room, one hand on his head. "I was with the Akatsuki! "

Naruto clutched his head with both hands. "My head kinda hurts..."

Everything came rushing back in a flow. _The Akatsuki..._

**_Kid, remember, you're now a spy. You've got to be more careful from now on._ **

Naruto looked down at his legs. He let his arms rest the his sides. _Yeah... I remember now..._

**_You start now, Naruto. You're in the Leaf again._ **

_I noticed._ He sighed.

Kakashi looked at Naruto curiously.

_So their name is the Akatsuki, huh?_

•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember this is cross-posted on Wattpad, where I post bi-monthly. This I will update until the two are the same.


	7. Claims

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pursue the Akatsuki

**(Arc 0 - Captured - pt 4)**

•<>•<>•<>•<>•

Konoha

"So that's what he said?.. "Lord Hiruzen muttered. "That's a group we should keep an eye on...the Akatsuki, you said? That's what Naruto called them? "

Kakashi stood calmly and confirmed his question with a slight nod. "That's about right."

"I've heard of the Akatsuki before. A while ago, there were rumors of this criminal organization that were free for hire." Lord Hiruzen said. "So I see they really were real. I had my suspicions back then. "

"What should we do about this, Lord Hiruzen?"Kakashi asked.

A worried expression was etched all over the Hokage's face. "We wait."

•<><><>•

Leaf Hospital

Naruto looked out the window of his hospital room. He was constantly lost in his thoughts.

Lord Hiruzen had frequently visited Naruto in the hospital the past week. Naruto didn't seem like the Naruto from before the incident.

Naruto seemed lost, and had a blank look in eyes, as if he was longing for something. Searching. The way Naruto held his shoulders made him seem older than he actually was.

Lord Hiruzen sat down on a chair next to the bed. "how are you feeling, Naruto?"

Naruto slowly turned his head. He looked at Lord Hiruzen with surprise. Naruto smiled. "What brings you here today? " he asked.

"I was checking up on you for today. I have a few questions I wanted to ask you too."Lord Hiruzen replied.

Naruto's expression immediately dropped. "Okay... " he looked away and at the covers of his bed. "so... What is it? "

"How many members of the Akatsuki were there? How many of them do you know the names of?" Lord Hiruzen started.

Naruto immediately tensed. _Kurama, what should I do? I can't answer these questions or else I'll be giving the Akatsuki away!_

 _ **Kit, remember what they said to you before you left? You are allowed to**_ ** _answer_** **_the questions any Leaf Shinobi asks you, as long as it is vague and doesn't give out a lot of information._**

_Yes..._

Naruto fidgeted his fingers. "I think there were at least um ... 7 Akatsuki people?" Naruto hesitated. "I only remember the names of two members."

Lord Hiruzen leaned forward, interested. "what were their names? "

Naruto thought for a second, determining who's name he should give up. Then it struck him. "Their names were Itachi and some explosion-loving dude called Deira? Dura? Or something like that. " Naruto said.

Lord Hiruzen pondered his words for a second. "I see...thank you, Naruto. You are a great help. Get better soon."  
He got up and left the room.

Naruto felt a bitter anger in the bottom of his guts. _T_ _hey only treat me better when I'm needed._

_The longer I stay here, the stronger my hatred towards the Leaf will grow._

•<><><>•

Akatsuki

"Has there been any updates regarding the Leaf Village?" Konan asked Black Zetsu.

"No there has been no updates from our informant." Black Zetsu lazily reported.

Konan frowned. "So that's the situation... " she walked away after thanking Zetsu.

Itachi stood At the corner of the hallway. Konan turned the corner and saw him. "Oh, Itachi. Is something the matter?"

Itachi let out a breath of frustration. "So nothing from Naruto, huh? " His face scrunched up with worry.

"That's what you're worried about? " Konan let out a laugh. "You're like a father who is worrying about his kids."

"I wonder if he's met Sauske yet.."

Konan looked at Itachi for a second. "Your younger brother? "

"You know what, just forget this happened." Itachi turned away and walked down the hall.

In the main hall, the Akatsuki members were having a meeting, ready to depart their different ways fulfilling their different missions.

"We will meet back here in person in 3 months. There is something I want to confirm that I wish to bring to our next meeting. Before then, you are to complete missions given to the Akatsuki. Otherwise, you are free to wander. " Pein said. "Make sure you keep safe and do not get caught by any Ninja."

With that, the Akatsuki dispersed.

•<><><>•

Konoha

Naruto's home

Naruto was let home earlier that day. They told him go easy and don't overstress himself for the next few days.

He flopped onto the bed.

_Life is getting complicated._

**_Pick yourself up, Naruto. You have to stand tall for this mission._ **

Naruto closed his eyes. _I know, Kurama. You don't need to tell me twice._

_I just need a bit of time to think out everything._

Naruto slowly fell into a deep sleep, mentally exhausted.

•<><><>•

Hokage's Office

"I talked to Naruto today and I have found out the identities of 2 Akatsuki members out of the 7 total. " Lord Hiruzen announced to the small gathering of Anbu and Jounin.

He placed down two photos down on his desk so everyone in the room could see.

The photos were attached to a profile sheet with all the information they had on the people.

The first profile.

Itachi Uchiha  
Member of the Uchiha Clan

Age: 18  
Height: 5'7"  
Gender: Male  
Status: Alive ( **_Rouge_** _)_ Mercenary   
Type: Human  
Kekkei Genkai: Sharigan  
Affiliations: Konohagakure ( Hidden   
Leaf)   
( _New)_ Akatsuki

Description

_Itachi Uchiha k_ _illed all the members of the Uchiha Clan and abandoned the Village. He has a younger brother named Sauske Uchiha, and his parents were the head of the Uchiha clan. Itachi Uchiha was formerly an Anbu black ops, operating underneath the orders of the Third Hokage Hiruzen. As a child he was gifted with talent among the Uchiha. A prodigy to make an Anbu at the age of 12. He was an Annual squad captain for a time. Mostly kept to himself, and a good friend to Shisui Uchiha, another prodigical member of the Uchiha clan, known to have one of the best Sharigan of the generation. Itachi is suspected for the death of Shisui. Has the Mangekyo Sharigan and whereabouts have currently been unknown._

The second profile.

Deidara  
Former member of the Explosion Corps

Age: 17  
Height: 5'4"  
Gender: Male  
Status: Alive ( _**Rouge**_ ) Mercenary   
Type: Human  
Kekkei Genkai: (Classified to Iwagakure)   
Affiliations: Iwagakure (Hidden Stone)  
( _New)_ Akatsuki

Description

_Deidara is a former shinobi of the Hidden Stone Village, former member of the Explosions Corps. Blonde hair and loves explosions and considered them a work of art._

_Other information is classified to Iwagature ._  
_No further information is provided_ _without special permission._

Everyone reviewed the profiles and Lord Hiruzen addressed them. "I want you to track down the Akatsuki base and reveal the identities of the other 5 Akatsuki members! "

"Yes sir! " Everyone the room said. They disappeared, heading out to complete their mission.

•<><><>•

Naruto

At the Academy, Naruto looked longingly out the window. He was no longer his usual, troublemaker self from a week before.

Many people in the class noticed his change in behavior, especially Iruka Sensei. He could clearly see the empty eyes of Naruto.

 _I wonder what Naruto went through during his time away from the village_. Iruka thought.

Naruto continued wavering his gaze out the window with a blank stare.

Naruto thought about the Akatsuki. _I want to go back to them again. I want to return to the Akatsuki._

**_After_ ** **_you_ ** **_do your job here._ **

Naruto sighed. _Thats going to take a while._

Naruto put his head down into his arms. _I want that day to come sooner_.

_I'll become a better ninja when I return to the Akatsuki! I'll get stronger here!_

Naruto sat up with a look of determination and slapped himself in the face. _I gotta focus!_ He told himself.

He started his journey to becoming a great shinobi.

•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be completely honest, after this point I just completely forgot that Hiruzen ordered a force to follow the Akatsuki's trail. I don't know what to do with this chapter. Just read it and forget it lol.
> 
> Next update will be Sept 20, or earlier if I feel like it.


	8. [Timeskip + Omake]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Omake of the first mission he went on with the Akatsuki members.

  
•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•

Konoha

2 Year Timeskip

•Dark Dawn•  
Part 2 (New Chapter)

(Naruto Joins the Akatsuki)  
End

•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•  
Deleted scene  
(It's cannon to this story)

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Akatsuki mission

* * *

"What the hell is this?!"

Hidan shook his arm at the young boy standing right next to him ay the entrance of the Akatsuki base. Naruto smiled up at Hidan.

Konan, who was there to see them off, sighed. "Well, he's coming with you and Kakuzu for today's mission. So you better bring him back home alright?"

Hidan glared at Konan. His whole body still shaking as he pointed at the still smiling blond. "He's only been here for _5 days_!"

Itachi stood right next to Konan, all poker-faced. "I don't understand the meaning of this either."

Pein suddenly shushinned into the clearing. He landed softly on the ground and surveyed all the people in front of him. "I forgot to give this to you earlier, it's essential to the mission you are going on today." He handed Kakuzu a scroll, who took it from his hands and carefully observed it.

"I sense a strong chakara sealed in this scroll. What is it going to do?" Kakuzu said, handing it to Naruto. Naruto also stared curiously at the scroll.

Pein pointed at the scroll. "That is going to help you out on this mission, along with Naruto. You know where this mission takes place in."

They all stayed silent for a moment before Naruto spoke up. "Leader-sama, this scroll feels familiar...somewhat..." Naruto frowned. "But it's also weird."

Pein nodded. "I'm not surprised you feel that way, but you'll understand when you see it." Pein said. "Now the three of you should be going now, so will we. "

Pein gestured at the two shinobi behind him, "We also have missions to complete. We'll see you when your mission is over." Then the two groups of three simultaneously disappeared in a blur.

•<>•<>•<>•

"What is that?" Hidan pointed at the scroll at Naruto's hand. He was still annoyed at the blonde tagging along.

Naruto stared at the scroll. "I think it's......fuiinjutsu?" He frowned. "It feels familiar, but I'm not used to it at all."

Hidan sighed again. "So we have a useless scroll with a seal we can't even _USE?!?"_

Kakuzu spoke up from in front of them. "I know a bit of fuiinjutsu. It'll be fine."

-

Obviously it wasn't fine.

It was utter chaos around there. Especially since they couldn't hurt their target at all.

Apparently it was a job to capture a large turtle that could grow in size.

"THE HELL IS THAT THING?!"

The trio were currently running and trying to hide; the only problem was that the turtle could keep up with them.

"Can I try this?" Naruto asked.

"BE MY GUEST, PIPSQUEAK!" Hidan screamed again.

And needless to say, an accident occurred.

They brought their client the turtle, was paid, and then left.

Upon retuning to their base, Naruto started laughing and apologizing to the other members, especially Pein.

"I'm sorry." Naruto laughed akwardly as Kakuzu handed the scroll Pein had given them.

"So you sealed the wrong thing into this scroll, didn't you." Pein had a weird look on his face that was between disappointment and laughter.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and sweatdropped as he slumped his shoulders. "Aha...maybe."

Pein sighed. "At least you got the job done." He posted Naruto's head. "Good job."

"Really?" Naruro smiled.

Pein nodded and turned around and undid the seal, and thus appearing Hidan.

The said man plopped on the ground as the seal was undone. He shot up to his feet.

"That pipsqueak is dead."Hian growled in a low voice.

Naruto was already gone.

The whole group sweatdropped.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed that little omake! This doesn't really count as a chapter.  
> Next chapter will still be up on Sept 20.


	9. Change [Ch.2]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here is their graduation day, along with the imfamous bell test. Team 7 is official.

•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•

Konohagakure

Sasuke's pov

  
I sat next to the classroom window and stared out into the sky. I was thinking about the genin exams I had taken yesterday. I knew I did well on the test... _but there's Naruto._

_The Naruto from before disappeared. He's no longer how he used to be._

_He isn't as annoying as he used to be._

_He's always look at me when he walks into the classroom, and I always look him in the eye. I see some sort of connection to him... his skill has improved._

_We would make a great team if we are placed into the same team together._

_It's weird... how I can think of_ _comradery_ _with Naruto of all people._

I smirked.

_We'd make good friends._

Nobody's pov

Naruto walked in to the classroom with a slightly slumped back. The genin exams had been yesterday and Naruto was sure he'd pass. He looked up to see Sasuke Uchiha looking at him. _Itachi's brother._ He thought.

Naruto rather liked Sasuke. He was silent and had a clear purpose in life. His skill was uncanny and seemed to connect with what Naruto went through.

He nodded slightly at Sasuke's direction and Sasuke let out a small wave.

Naruto walked past many desks with squealing fangirls, pushing his way past to Sasuke.

"Hey, is this spot open?" Naruto asked.

Naruto's eyes closed halfway, as if he was still half asleep. His hands were in his pockets. You could say that he looked emo in a way.

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah it is."

Naruto sat down and put his head in his hands, leaning on the table.

There were more fangirl screaming with whispers.

_"OMG_ _Sasuke's_ _so cool! "_

_"Naruto looks really cool too!"_

_"I can't take it! Both of them being in the same place is gonna kill me!"_

_"They're so cool! "_

_"I want both of them! "_

_"Please_ _Sasuke_ _-san look at me! "_

_"I worship the two of them! "_

_"They're both so hot! "_

The girls kept fangirling and squealing, scrambling over each other trying to get a look.

Naruto felt angry at this outburst. He hated how they kept fawning over him and Sasuke. _Why was I only wanted by the girls when I changed my appearance a little? All I did was wake up a little early and wear darker clothes._

_They're so fake. It pisses me off._

Sasuke sighed. "I see you get this all the time too? " he asked.

Naruto let out a pitiful breath. "Nope, only at school. Every other time, the villagers just avoid me like the plague. "

Sasuke felt a ping of connection. Something they had in common.

Sasuke let out a chuckle. "Heh...its unreal...to how much I can relate to that. People avoid me plenty of times too. I see you've had a harsh childhood."

Just then, Iruka Sensei walked in. "I have the genin exams results! Please come up here to see the sheet! When you do, you may go to the classroom next door to receive your judicial Genin headband! " he stuck a piece of paper on the board.

Everyone scuttled to get to the board.

"WOAH WOAH! One at a time! "Iruka attempted to calm the students down.

Naruto enhanced his sight with the help from Kurama and saw the result on the board.

He saw his name at the top, tied with Sasuke's score.

"We both passed at the top of the class, and guess what? We're tied for first." Naruto laughed.

"Yeah, I knew. Figures we'd be the best in class." Sasuke smirked.

•<><><>•

In another classroom  
After a lunch break

  
"We'll be announcing the names of your Jounin teacher and your teams now! Please listen closely to your team members and number! " an unnamed Chunin shinobi said to the waiting class.

Naruto yawned and Sasuke sat back in his chair, arms crossed. Everyone was excited to hear their new teams.

"I want to get Sasuke on my team! "

"I want Naruto and Sasuke! "

"Either one on my team is fine for me! "

"please put me with Sasuke! "

"Ahem! " the chunin coughed. "The teams had already been decided! "

A while later, after calling out multiple teams and it's members, neither Sasuke or Naruto had been chosen for a group.

Every fangirl in the class were anxiously waiting for the next three teams.

"Team ten will be... Ino Yamanaka! Shikamaru Nara! And Choji Akimichi!" The unnamed chunin said.

Ino shot up from her seat. "I why do I have to be with those two?! "

"The teams had already been chosen. " The chunin simply replied.

The team followed a storming Ino out the classroom.

"And for team 7!" the Churning began. "There will be Sasuke Uchiha!"

Everyone collectively gasped. "it's Sasuke! "

"I'm already in a team! I want to switch!"

"Next is... Naruto Uzumaki! "

"THEY'RE ON THE SAME TEAM! " The girls whispered loudly. They looked around and kinky two girls were left. Both looked excited to hear the next member. "

Naruto smiled. "seems we got to be the same team. " he leaned back on his chair and put his arms behind his head.

Sasuke satisfyingly smiled. "yeah, I think that's cool too. " he rested his arms on the tabletop and put put his hands into a fist.

"The third member is..... Sakura Haruno!" the chunin completed.

"YES!! " Sakura jumped up from her seat, fist in the air. "I'm with Naruto and Sasuke!! "

The other girls glared daggers at her as she walked over to her new team members.

•<><><>•

Kakashi

Kakashi Hatake walked into the classroom where he would meet the new group of genin he would be training.

He opened the door to a mixed atmosphere of annoyance, malice, and hyperactiveness.

There he saw three kids, who he assumed the names of.

_That's Naruto..._   
_Sasuke_ _Uchiha, the last Uchiha in Konoha..._   
_and Sakura Haruno._

Those were the genin under his command.

Sakura was jumping all over the place, basically all over the two boys. Sasuke looked about ready to kick her out and Naruto looked like he was annoyed out his mind. "Would you quit it Sakura? " Sasuke huffed.

Naruto didn't say anything, as if tuning out his hearing.

"so my first impression.... You're a bunch of idiots. " Kakashi suddenly said into their exchange. "But not without potential. "

"Meet me up on the rooftop in five min. " Kakashi said and disappeared in a cloud if smoke.

Naruto stared at the smoke. "so that's our Sensei? "

Sasuke nodded. "it seems so. "

Naruto thought back. He remembered Kakashi Hatake. He was there when Naruto was returned to the Hidden leaf.

"Well, I guess this is gonna be pretty interesting. " Naruto laughed.

"Let's go to the rooftop then." Sasuke stood up.

"Yeah, you know how to Shushin?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah."

"u-um I don't know how? -"Sakura stammered.

Both Sasuke and Naruto disappeared in a flash.

"They're gone!" Sakura gasped. "I gotta go now or I'll be late! "

She took off running through the halls, heading to the roof of the school.

•<><><>•

At the rooftop

Sasuke and Naruto were the first to arrive.

"Hey there." Kakashi said without looking back. He was leaning on the railings, holding his book. "Where's the pinky?"

"She's coming." Sasuke said.

A minute later, Sakura ran up the stairs behind them, a bit out of breath.

They all sat down on the steps of roof. ( **s** orry, too lazy to actually describe. I trust that you know what the scene looks like? :0)

"Now for introductions, why don't you go first, Naruto? " Kakashi said.

Sakura sat up a little straighter. "Could you give us a demonstration of how we should do this?"

Kakashi just gave her a stare before he nodded. "Well, okay. So my name is Kakashi Hatake, what I like.... you don't have to know... I dislike many things.....my hobbies..... you're too young to know.....my dream.....never really thought about that."

The team sweatdropped _that's an introduction?_

Naruto turned to the side, trying to hold in his laughter. _I knew he was lazy and perverted but seeing it up close is somehow funnier._ Naruto snorted.

Kakashi then turned to Naruto. "Okay, blondie. Your turn."

Naruto rocked back and fourth slightly before saying. "So my name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like ramen, and training. I dislike certain types of people. I like to help out people that I care about and my dream is to become a great shinobi that can protect the things I consider precious."

"Okay. Sasuke, want to introduce yourself? " Kakashi asked.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha. I dislike many things, and don't have anything in particular that I like. My goal is to kill a certain someone.... " Sasuke said.

"Well, that was pretty vague. So Sakura, how about you? " Kakashi nodded dejectedly in her direction.

"O-oh! My n-name us Sakura H-Haruno! " She stammered and blushed. "I like... *looks at Sasuke and Naruto.* *squeals* my hobbies are... *looks at Sasuke and squeals again* I dislike people who don't like... *squeals again*"

Kakashi stared at Sakura for a second. "Okay then. So I guess you've introduced yourselves. I'm your jounin Sensei from now on. You've officially made the hidden Leaf's genin rank. Starting tomorrow, you will train under me. " Kakashi instructed. "Meet me at the training grounds at 7:00 am sharp tomorrow morning. Make sure not to eat breakfast or else you'll throw up."

Kakashi left on those words.

"I guess that's that." Naruto got up. "I'll be going then. Bye Sasuke. " He said

"See you tomorrow!" Sakura waves excitedly.

"You need to chill out a bit." Sasuke shot her an annoyed glare before jumping to another rooftop."

"Okay! " Sakura blushed deep. _They're talking to me! They really are talking to me! The two most handsome guys on my team! I'm so happy I could cry!_ She put her hands on the side of her face with wide eyes.

•<><><>•

The next morning  
Training grounds.

Naruto was already there when Sasuke arrived at the designated meeting location. Naruto stood on top of a branch, staring at the sunset that had risen a half hour before.

Sasuke jumped onto the tree, standing next to Naruto on the branch on the other side of the tree trunk.

"what are you looking at? " Sasuke asked.

Naruto didn't reply for a few moments. "I want to remember anything I have of my parents. Just trying to get even the slightest clue of how they were like." he finally replied. Naruto's face wore a frown.

Sasuke pondered that. He too stared at the sunrise. "I want to look for my brother. He's the one I want to kill." Sasuke confessed. "My brother slaughtered the whole clan. I want want to avenge my family and rebuild the clan. "

Naruto didn't make any movements.

Just then Sakura arrived. _Where is everyone?_ She thought.

Then she looked up at the branch to find Naruto and Sasuke.

Her eyes glistened when she saw them standing up on the branches. _They look so cool like that!_ Sakura blushed and looked back, away. _They're gonna catch me looking if I kept staring._

_-_

About an hour later Kakashi arrived. "hey, sorry I was late. Something came up so... " he put up a hand on greeting.

"you are so late! And this was our first day of training! " Sakura screamed.

Naruto was asleep in the trunks of a tree while Sasuke just sat on the other side.

Kakashi aplogized with a face that showed slight guilt in what he did.

"Well, since we're here now, why don't we get started? " Kakashi said without cheerful tone.

Naruto sleepily sat up and looked at Kakashi. "It's finally time to start? "

Sasuke stood up. "Yeah, so quit your moping around, Naruto. We've got some training to do."

Once all three of the genin were in front of Kakashi, he explained the training they were going to do.

"Look at these two bells. " Kakashi jingled the bell in one hand. "I want you to get these bells away from me. You have till noon to get it. If you do not manage to get one bell, you will fail, and you'll return to the academy. The ones left remaining without a bell must watch the ones who did eat their lunch in front of them. You will be tied to a post there"-Kakashi pointed at the posts to his left-"until the people who got a bell has finished their lunch. "

"What? So that's why you didn't want us to eat breakfast?" Sakura moaned.

Kakashi said nothing and smiled. "good luck. "

The timer started as Kakashi pulled out his book. _I have a feeling this won't be as easy as I'm imagining right now._

The three genin jumped into the shadows of the trees and bushes around them.

_We don't need Sakura on our team... So if we work together and only Sasuke and I get a bell, that would be fine for both of us._

_So for now, we can use Sakura._

Naruto waved Sasuke over. "We should work together. If Sakura doesn't get a bell, that wouldn't be a problem for us, wouldn't it? I think she could still be useful though." Naruto whispered to Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded. "I think the alternative motive of this training grounds is teamwork. I've been thinking about it since Kakashi Sensei explained the rules. "

"Let's go out and attack together with Sakura. "

After a bit of frantic signaling, Sakura got the message. _Distract Sensei._

Sakura jumped out of her hiding spot and threw a shuriken at Kakashi Sensei. "Take that! " she yelled.

At the same moment, about a split second after Sakura's appearance, both Naruto and Sasuke jumped out from different points and attacked. Naruto landed on the back of Kakashi Sensei as Sasuke engages him in a kunai fight, which was harder for Kakashi with Naruto on his back.

As Naruto latched onto Kakashi, Sakura was busy trying to grab the bells. _I'll get one, and the other one will be for Sasuke!_

Naruto, however got to the bells first. He reached down and yanked the bells out of Kakashi's jacket. Kakashi was still engaged in a fight against Sasuke, and didn't notice the bells gone until Naruto let go of his back.

Kakashi blocked the next attack from Sasuke, and delivered an elbow strike at Sasuke's stomach. Sasuke jumped back, just barely enough so he wouldn't be hit hard enough to do much damage. Kakashi disappeared, too fast for the eyes to see and reappeared behind Sasuke. Sasuke stood frozen, dumbstruck and confused to what had taken place. Masking his KI, Kakashi pushed a kunai next to Sasuke's neck.

"I wonder what your friends are gonna do." Kakashi said to Sasuke.

Sasuke grit his teeth and then let out an agitated breath. "Like hell I would know. "

_Let's see if they have a hint of what a true shinobi is like._

Just then, Naruto jumped out of the bushes and attacked Kakashi again, causing Kakashi to lose grip on Sasuke for a second, just allowing him to escape. The same speed as Naruto came out into the clearing, he vanished just as fast.

Kakashi could not sense them on the surface, and had to go deeper and concentrate harder to find the three genin.

 _Damn, they're good._ Kakashi thought. He sensed their presence near his back, about 50meters away. _There you are. Now let's what you're going to do with those bells._

The three genin walked up to Kakashi. From his back. "We've gotten your bells, and that means we won't be sent back to the academy. We win. " Sasuke said.

Kakashi faced the genin to see Naruto and Sasuke holding ups bells. Sakura stood behind them, looking happy as well.

Kakashi smiled. "So is Sakura going back to the academy? She alone doesn't have a bell. "

"It's all of us or none of us. " Naruto sternly said. Sasuke nodded at that.

Kakashi smiled. "Okay, so that's how it is. You all pass! " Kakashi announced.

Sasuke and Naruto gave each other a high-five and smiled at each other. Sakura cheered next to them.

Then it was official, they were Team 7.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update Sept 27
> 
> My brain is frying trying to write my chapters. ;-;  
> And I hope that this story doesn't destroy your braincells more than mine.


	10. Chains (Arc 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beginning of Team 7's first mission first mission. 
> 
> This is completely non-canon. They aren't in Wave country.
> 
> Super short chapter- sorry abt that

**(Arc 1-first mission)**  
•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•

Naruto

Today was Team 7's first mission together. Naruto wore his fighting gear/chothes, which was comprised of colors like orange, black, and blue. He had black, elbow length fingerless protective gloves developed with special grip that allowed Naruto to grip onto things well. He wore a blue scarf around his neck and his utility belt was hanging from his waist, alone with a dagger sheath. Naruto also had two weapons holder strapped on both of his legs. His pants was baggy for ease in movement, and as red as blood. ( _Why did I do this)_ his boots reached around halfway to his knees. (There is a drawing of the full outfit in a but, here have a drawing of my Naruto)

  
Naruto jumped out his window and headed off to the team's meeting point, navigating the rooftops with ease of movement

Shortly after, Naruto landed on the ground silently and greeted Sauske, why my who had already been waiting.

Sakura wasn't in sight, but both of the boys could sense her chakara behind a bush. These ignored her and sat in silence for a while.

**Naruto, are you planning on contacting the Akatsuki anytime soon?**

_Actually, I've been thing about doing that. It's been such a long time since I last saw or heard from them._

Naruto then thought _I think I'll meet up with them during this mission._

Kakashi arrived late and made up an excuse, trying to soothe a screeching banshee who came out of her hiding spot a little before Kakashi was there.

They headed to the missions office to hear more details on their assigned mission. (I'm making up a new mission for this story)

"You have an assigned B-rank mission in a small town east of the Leaf village. The village elder has requested for our help. They've had an abnormal drought that had been consistent, and we want you to find a way to solve that problem." the shinobi said from behind the desk.

Kakashi held the scroll with information about the mission. "Thanks, we'll get going now. " he said before walking out and gesturing for his team to leave. Naruto was already thinking of a way to complete their mission when he walked out the door.

•<><><>•

Later in the day, team 7 was packed and ready to leave the village.

"Alright then, let's go. " Kakashi said once everyone was there.

"Right! " the team responded and started heading towards the village.

\--

At nightfall, the team made it to the village. The fog has built up and it was fairly hard to see in the night, but they could see the faint light from torches glimmering in the night.

"it wasn't really that far, huh" Sauske commented.

They walked to the edge of the small town and up to a guard.

Getting closer, they could see the guard, and he looked sickly and tired.

The guard noticed them and shouted to other guards . "I SEE SOMEONE OUT HERE!" other people came over to the man's voice. Reluctantly, the people walked over to the area they were in. "COME OUT NOW!"

Naruto walked out casually and waved. "hey"

Sauske followed Naruto, a bit hesitant to step out into the clearing. Sakura and Kakashi followed a second after.

"The four of us are shinobi from the Hidden Leaf. We have a mission in this town, something about droughts in the area? " Kakashi started.

"No such mission was requested! You've got the wrong town! " the guard shouted. "Leave now! "

"...what? " Sakura questioned. "This is the right town! We're exactly at the point we were instructed to."

"Forget it kid! Just leave! We don't need any more imposters in the town!" the man said.

"Imposters you say? What do you mean?" Kakashi asked.

"We're not telling any outsiders anything!" The man swung a hand through the air in front of him. "go back to your village!"

Naruto stared at the man for a few seconds. "This situation probably needs us, which is probably why we were called here. " Naruto said.

"We didn't request for you ninja, so you should leave! We don't need your help! "

"But you guys obviously need some sort of assistance! We can-" Sakura insisted, but then was cut off by Naruto with a hand.

"Okay then, we'll leave you to your own businesses. We'll take our leave then. " Naruto disappeared.

Sauske glanced at the villagers. "Just request from the Leaf if you do want any help around here. " Sauske leapt onto a tree branch. Kakashi also jumped up. Team 7 silently left the small town.

•<><><>•

Near the small town

"I've never had the intention to leave that town alone. " Naruto said to the team once they were alone.

Sauske stood unfazed while Sakura was confused. "Same here. Something is going on and I wasn't going to let that go. " Sauske said.

Kakashi nodded. "This mission wasn't actually requested by the villages, we we have to find out who did. For all we know, they could be shooting on us right now. So all of you have to stay on guard. "

"So first off, we have to report back to the village. Sakura, Sauske, we need the two of you to stick together and reach the village to report in." Kakashi said. Sauske nodded and Sakura blushed...

"We'll go." Sauske replied. "So what are you and Naruto going to do here when we are gone? "

"The two of us are going to check around the village, and hopefully gain some information on the enemy. If the person that hired us isn't in that village, it's safe to assume that they mean some sort of harm to lure us here." Kakashi said. "So just a bit of digging around. "

"Right." Sauske said. "Let's go Sakura."

"O-okay! " Sakura stammered. She ran after Sauske who has started running through the forest.

Naruto looked at Kakashi. "Let's get started too, when they're gone. I have a hunch about this situation."

Kakashi just sighed. "Let's go to the village first. I also have a hunch."

Naruto gave Kakashi a slight nod then they both disappeared.

•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update is Oct 4
> 
> I have more drawings for the series lol it'll be in the future. There aren't that many I just drew them for fun lol. Just have that (I'm embarrassed) but ok
> 
> This is so weird


	11. Chances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke and Sakura get back to the Leaf village, while Naruto is realizing that this mission is more than just a mission.

**(Arc 1 - first mission - pt 2)**  
•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•

Sasuke

"We're almost there." Sasuke said.

"U-uh yeah!" Sakura stammered before looking down and refocusing on her footsteps.

A few seconds later, they saw the Konoha's gates in front of them. Sakura waved to the guards without stopping their run.

The two made their way to the Hokage's building, rushing up the steps and down the halls before stopping in front of Hiruzen's office.

Sasuke knocked and waited.

"What is it? I'm busy" Lord Third said.

"We have a report from Kakashi, I'm coming in now." Sasuke opened the door.

Lord Hiruzen stared at them for a second. "what is it?"

"Something is not quite right about the mission we have. The two of us came here to tell you about it." Sasuke started. "The mission that was given wasn't from anyone in the village that we headed to. And the twin itself is in a bad state, they're barely scraping by."

Sakura continued. "Naruto and Kakashi are staying behind to do some digging around, and hopefully get the townspeople to tell us what's up in their village."

"The mission request wasn't from the town head?" Lord Hiruzen sighed. "I'll send some chunin or jounin to investigate this situation. Meanwhile, I'll have to call Naruto and Kakashi back to the village."

"Sir!" Sakura replied.

Lord Hiruzen rubbed his chin. "This situation is most peculiar..."

•<>•<>•<>•

At the small town

"This town is called Chihana, huh?" Naruto said.

Kakashi and Naruto sat across from each other up on a pathway on the mountain that was located right next to the small town. They had laid a map on the ground in front of them and were currently looking for any area that would seem the most suspicious, or the area their culprit would be hiding.

"Yeah, this town has a unique red flower that grows on their land, and covers the grass. It doesn't do anything special and it's lifespan is short, so these flowers were never really popular." Kakashi said, arms crossed.

_**What do you think this is, kit? What are you going to do?** _

_Well, first I want to see if my hunch is correct and then we'll see, Kurama. I have a feeling I know what's happening._

Naruto stood up. "I'm going to the field right here." - Naruto pointed at the location. - "I have a feeling about this place. Let's go!"

_**There? That's where the flowers grew. What the point in seeing that place?** _

"Well, fine. Since we don't have much of a lead, might as well start on a hunch." Kakashi stood as well, rolling up the map in his hand.

Naruto and Kakashi shushinned all the way.

•<>•<>•<>•  
At the field

Naruto slowed down when they reached the edge of the open plains. "There we go-" Naruto set down his bag.

The scenery was clouded with fog.

"We should proceed with caution" Kakashi said. "You got that Nar-"

He just saw Naruto digging through his pack.

Naruto whipped out shurikens and kunai, handling them with expertise.

"Kakashi, we're going to fight, so you better get ready."

Kakashi was surprised at the sudden claim bay Naruto. He didn't sense anyone nearby. "What --"

Then, at that moment, a blur flew straight at Kakashi and Naruto dashed over to assist. Kakashi blocked the enemy's large sword.

"Kakashi-sensei! Behind you!" Naruto yelled over.

Then another figure threw multiple kunai at Kakashi. Kakashi deflected them, as well as dodging. He reached up to his headband and revealed the Sharigan beneath the folds.

"Naruto! You take care of the other one!" Kakashi shouted. "I'll take this one on!"

Kakashi then charged at the enemy.

Multiple blows were exchanged. Kakashi's arm was cut and the enemy was sent flying with a kick. Kakashi them wove three hand signs.

 _O-_ _Ushi_  
 _•_  
 _Usagi_  
 _•_  
 _Saru_

Then Kakashi grabbed his wrist as blue light bloomed from his hand and created a chorus of a thousand birds.

"Chidori!" Kakashi yelled.

He held his hand at his side and charged at the enemy. Kakashi lifted up his arm and prepared to strike.

The other person started to stand up and took Kakashi's attack head on, making no attempt to block.

The man's body then scattered into the form of numerous crows.

"You've gotten better, Kakashi." A voice behind him said smoothly.

Kakashi didn't make a move. "Is that you, Itachi?" He said menacingly.

"You're still the same as ever. The same, cold person I knew." Itachi replied.

"What do you want, Itachi?" Kakashi demanded.

Pause.

"I want to buy some time, you see. You're quite the bother, see we couldn't have you getting in out way."

"Buy time for what?" Kakashi finally turned around. Itachi's genjutsu faded. He was now face to face with the real Itachi.

"Look around you." Itachi said.

Kakashi scanned the surroundings for any sign abnormality before finally realizing the case.

"Where's Naruto?!" Kakashi said in a more hushed, intimidating tone.

Itachi turned away. "That's for you to find out." He disappeared into the fog.

"Damn those bastards. What are they planning?"

•<>•<>•<>•  
A minute before

"Naruto! You take care of the other one!" Kakashi shouted to Naruto. "You take the other one!"

 _That's Itachi!_ Naruto thought. _So much hunch was right after all! This meeting was literally be chance._

Naruto turned to the man standing in front of him. "Hey, long time no see, Kisame!" He laughed softly and ran over.

"Yeah yeah. Whatever. Let's just go already it's been a while since you've updated your status to us." Kisa walked towards the forest with Naruto clinging onto this head innocently.

"And do you mind getting off my head?" Kisame said frustrated.

Naruto frowned "I like it up here..."

"Just get off, I can barely see with you up there." He said aggrivated.

"Fine." Naruto jumped off.

"So what has the Akatsuki been doing??" Naruto asked. "I haven't heard a thing from you either!".

Kisame growled and stared forward with a look of defeat. "It's not our fault we weren't able to get in touch with you." He replied after a while. "We don't want to raise any suspicion that we have any contact with someone inside the Leaf."

"But what have you been doing?" Naruto asked.

Kisame frowned. "I'll tell you later. We're going to the others first."

Itachi appeared in front of them landing with barely any sound. "This is a good place to stop. We're going to meet the others. (You know the ring the Akatsuki did with their meetings? Like they were in different places when they had a meeting? That illusion they had in the cave area whenever they needed to discuss something and such. That's what I'm talking about lol)

"Okay!" Naruto sat down and began concentrating.

•<>•<>•<>•  
Akatsuki Main base

The other Akatsuki members had already gotten there before Itachi, Kisame, and Naruto joined them.

"It's about time you slowpokes! I've been waiting forever for you to show up!" Deidera complained.

"We're not late you were just early." Itachi replied emotionlessly.

"What did you just say to me??" Deidera huffed.

"Just be quiet you two. Pein is waiting to speak." Black Zetsu said.

"And you're in no place to boss me around!" Deidera yelled.

"So we are here regarding our plan and because of our contact with Naruto." Pein said, ignoring Deidera's complaining.

"Hey everyone!" Naruto waved.

"Is there any information that you think might be useful to us?" Konan asked.

"Yes I do. I've gone digging through some things that I shouldn't have and found some interesting stuff on some people's backgrounds and the Leaf villages secrets." Naruto started. "About architectural parts and buildings, as well as specific information on clan jutsus!"

Naruto went on for a while and fifteen minutes passed.

"... That's quite a lot you have." Sasori commented.

"I just remember all of it."Naruto said.

"Okay, so out next point of business is the plan to gather the jinchuriki." Pein said.

Tobi waved his arms. "That was all my idea! Mee-" he said gleefully."

Naruto was interested in the topic. "Why do you want to do that?" Naruto asked.

Pein replied. " We need the power of all the tailed beasts on our side of we are to succeed in our goal. Their power is needed. The Akatsuki needs the power to do what we aim for."

"We need this power if we are to change the world."

•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update is Oct 11 
> 
> I didn't post on Wattpad today :D screw procrastination   
> Y'all get a chapter while my Wattpad hate me :P


	12. Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The meeting with the Akatsuki ends smoothly, and the first mission with the puppet village is over. Naruto's voices his concern for the fact that their supposed enemy has a fraction of the Nine-Tail's chakra.
> 
> Along with an OMAKE that is just Idk

**(Arc 1 - first mission - pt 3)  
** •<>•<>•<>•  
Akatsuki

Almost immediately, the mood in the room dropped and became more serious than Lets-try-and-get-Tobi's-mask-off-together mood. (Ignore it)

"

You need the power of all the tailed beasts?" Naruto repeated. "What about me?"

Pein then replied, "Since you are already on our side, all we have to focus on is the other eight tailed beasts."

"What? How do you plan to get all the other jinchuuriki to listen to you?" Deidara demanded.

"I wanted to leave it up for Naruto to decide." Pein said. "He's also a Jinchuuriki, so I thought it was right."

**_Looks like it's your call kit. What do you want to do?_ **

Naruto thought for a second. " I know what I want to do." Naruto looked up at the other members. "If my idea doesn't work, we will just have to take the power from them, which I feel like isn't going to be a problem."

**_I'll help talk to them, if you wanted me to, alright Naruto?_ **

_Thank you Kurama. I'm really glad you're here!_ Naruto replied in his mindscape. He turned to Konan for approval of his idea.

Konan nodded at Naruto. "Then we'll leave it up to you, Naruto. Do what you can for now, it won't be a problem."

"Thanks everyone. Leave it to me. " Naruto said confidently.

"So we're going to leave it up to the brat?" Hidan said, annoyed.

"We have to trust our members if we are to work together for the common goal. So don't whine about it and just let Naruto do his thing." Kakuzu said with a voice of finalization.

"Fine. I'm going " Hidan said. His projecting watered and then vanished .

"Well, see you all next time we meet!" Naruto waved at the Akatsuki with a smile. "I'll do whatever I can to benefit the Akatsuki!"

•<>•<>•<>•

Outside (with Kakashi)

Kakashi had retrieved the bags on the field and was running through the forest, trying to find Naruto.

_Damnit, where did they take him? This is the SECOND TIME that has happened!_

The fog had slowly lifted when he was running.

_When is the reinforcements going to arrive?_

Kakashi skidded to a stop when something catches his eye.

A kunai.

Embedded into the trunk of the tree.

Kakashi walked over to it and pulled it out.

 _A battle happened here._ Kakashi realized.

Staring at the direction the kunai was facing, he ran off deep into the forest.

•<>•<>•<>•

Naruto

Naruto stood up from where he sat on the large rock they had found in the forest.

Stretching his arms, he turned to Itachi and Kisame.

"How long were we there? I wasn't keeping track of the time." Naruto asked.

Itachi thought for a minute. " It felt like twenty minutes. It did feel shorter."

Naruto sighed. "Well, I better get going or else every shinobi in the Leaf Village is going to lose their butts. That won't be good." He spun around to face Itachi. "I'm going to go back to Kakashi. Bye!"

Naruto smiled at the two and walked at them, before taking off into the forest.

Itachi held a hand up. "Okay then. See you soon."

In the forest, Naruto ran fast through the forest. I have a new role in the Akatsuki now! Isn't that awesome, Kurama??

_**It is pretty amazing. You've come a long way since I first started speaking to you.** _

Naruto smiled. "Yeah!"

A short while later,

_Hey, I sense someone not far from here. It's Kakashi-sensei._

_**Get ready .** _

_Right._

Kakashi came into a small clearing and Naruto ran up to him. He pretended to be surprised.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked. "What are you doing here so deep in the forest?"

"Naruto! I was looking all over for you! So this is where you've been?" Kakashi said.

Naruto stared at Kakashi. "Where'd the enemy go?"

He sighed. " He got away. It doesn't matter really. We should get out of this place before we proceed."

Naruto silently nodded and dashed towards the direction Kakashi came from.

"I do still have a concern." Kakashi told Naruto.

Naruto nodded, not saying anything.

"There is still the matter with the village that we thought we came to help. They said that they had imposters in the villagers. That is still a big problem. Why would there be people that wanted to pose as someone else in a small village like that?" Kakashi pointed out.

Naruto nodded absently to Kakashi. "Yeah, well, I don't think that the imposters will show up anymore."

Kakashi gave a strange look at Naruto. "Why do you think that is the case, Naruto?"

Naruto shrugged at Kakashi. "Its just a hunch. And I'm pretty sure that I'm right about this the enemy no longer has a reason to be here, since their goal has been accomplished." They were trying to lure us out. After all in the mission details, they requested out team specifically.

And I already know who the imposters were made by.

**_Zetsu?_ **

_Yeah_. Naruto turned his attention to Kurama un his mindscape.

Kakashi started to question that Naruto's hunch, but then decided against it. _I'll ask later or else I will never get any straight answer out of him._ He thought.

"What were you doing in the forest anyways? Aren't you hurt at all?" Kakashi changed the subject Naruto as he leapt onto another tree branch.

"I think they were luring me somewhere" Naruto said, thinking back to the actually convincing story he came up with a minute ago. "I was knocked out by the enemy, which leads me to think that they really were trying to get distract us from something."

Kakashi gave a good, long stare at Naruto. "They knocked you out?"

Naruto puffed out a breath of frustration. "Yeah, I just said that didn't I?"

Kakashi didn't say anything and just continued on their path.

 _I think something's wrong here._ Kakashi thought

Kakashi finally broke the silence with a question. "When did you wake up?"

Naruto looked at Kakashi. "Uh, I think about five minutes ago?" He stared at the palm of his hand blankly. "My energy did feel somewhat depleted when I woke up. It's possible that they took a fraction the kyuubi chakra in me."

**_So you're sticking with that story then._ **

_Yeah._

**_Don't give yourself away. Just remember that._ **

_Of course, I know!_

**_Just saying._ **

_I'm not that stupid. Okay?_

**_Yeah yeah. Whatever you say kit._ **

_Hmph._

Naruto smiled to himself.

Kakashi unintentionally cut in their conversation. "They extracted some of the nine tails chakra?"

Naruto nodded. "And that isn't a good thing at all. That means that they might have someone in their group receive the chakra. Then they would be able to use the power of the nine tails." (Is that how it works? Meh. Just gonna do it my way lmao)

Kakashi went silent for the second time.

" We have to get back to the Leaf Village. I'm sure Sasuke and Sakura is already on their way back here with reinforcements." Kakashi then said. "We shouldn't stay here any longer."

"You're right, Kakashi-sensei." The two together shuushined away, faster that they were before.

•<>•<>•<>•

Sasuke - Near the Village

"We're almost there." Sasuke pointed to the distance, too far to see.

There were two Chuunin and a jounin that were following Sasuke, who was taking the lead.

Sakura, for once, was somewhat focused on her mission, scanning the surrounding areas for unfamiliar chakra signatures.

She felt something right in the edge of the radius she was searching. Immediately she recognized it.

"Sasuke! Kakashi-sensei and Naruto is nearby! I can feel their chakra" Sakura yelled over to Sasuke.

Sasuke sighed. "I knew that like thirty seconds ago." He said under his breath. Sighing, he continued. "Okay then, let's meet up with them along the way. Those two seem to be headed this way."

Sasuke slowed to a stop and leapt to the ground. "Let's wait here for them to arrive."

Not much longer, Naruto and Kakashi-sensei appeared in front of the group. "I see you're all here." Kakashi said. "Well, let's get down to business."

"There are many things that we should tell you guys. Uh, some bad things happened when the two of you were gone," -looks at Sasuke and Sakura- "So we should fill you in first." Naruto started.

Kakashi continued for Naruto. "For starters, the enemy has access to a part of the Nine tails power now."

(Edited)

 _ **OMAKE**_ _ **\- (irrelevant to the actual story)**_  
\------

"What? How do you plan to get all the other jinchuriki to listen to you?" Deidera demanded.

"I wanted to leave it up for Naruto to decide." Pein said. "He's also a Jinchuriki, so I thought it was right."

**_Looks like it's your call kit. What do you want to do?_ **

"I'll get them to cooperate with me by bribing them with the _One Park_ , a world-wide known treasure!" Naruto had one hand on his chin, and one hand on his elbow, nodding his head furiously.

_**WRONG ANIME** _ _**NARUTO** _ _**!!** _

"YOU SEE PEIN, HE'S EVEN MORE USELESS THAN A NATURALLY-WAVY-HAIRED SAMURAI TRYING TO PLAN FOR EVENTS!"

  
End OMAKE

•<>•<>•<>•

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This first arc actually makes no sense to me. I wrote this over a year and a half ago, it's not too much of a surprise tbh.  
> I'm thinking of starting another fanfiction, but right now I'm having trouble with one fanfiction, how to other writers _do it?_
> 
> But yeah, I hope you stick around until the end :'D
> 
> Next update : Oct 19


	13. Closed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion of their first mission. Naruto feels a presence from the town.

**• <>•<>•<>•**  
The group in the forest

  
"...For starters, the enemy has access to part of the Nine Tails power now."

The whole group in the clearing froze. "What do you mean by that?" Sauske reluctantly spoke up after a while.

Naruto exhaled. "It means literally what Kakashi-sensei said. They have access to my power. Though it is a small fraction of it."

Another moment of silence.

Sakura slapped both palms on her cheeks and then took a small breath, which brought the attention of the whole group to her. "Well, we can't undo things that has already been done. You've really got to fill us in, both of you!"

Naruto just stared off into the distance, pretending not to hear him. Kakashi sighed, realizing that Naruto didn't want to do the talking; he was leaving it up to him.

"Well, so the enemy...."

A while later, after the breif explanation

Sauske was lost in his thoughts. He would most definitely feel the most from the news of his older brother. Sakura just scrambled over the two, making sure they were unhurt. The other three unnamed ninja proceeded to head off to the battle location so they would be able to gather more intel on the Akatsuki as they could.

"What can we do now?" Sauske crossed his arms.

Naruto shrugged. "We might have to just wait and see what's going to happen." Naruto then thought back to his new mission, along with his previous one.

 _There's a lot of work up ahead of me._ He sighed. _But this situation right now takes priority._

"We should maybe sure that small town is okay. Let's head that way while the other shinobi check out the battlefield." Naruto nodded in the general direction.

His teammates curtly nodded and shushined towards the town.

•<>•<>•<>•  
At the town

The four Leaf shinobi shushined into the town, to see the said town seemingly deserted.

"Hey! Is anyone there?" Naruto yelled, cupping his hand around his mouth. No response.

Kakashi crossed his arms. "It's seems that they don't intend to respond."

Naruto nodded. He faced forward, away from his team and closed his eyes. Concentrating his chakara, he let it out in small streams, sending other presences. "Yeah, the villagers are all definitely still here." Naruto said eventually, after confirming the presence of multiple non-shinobi people.

Naruto sighed. "LISTEN PEOPLE, THERE AREN'T GOING TO BE ANY MORE IMPOSTERS IN THIS VILLAGE ANYMORE! SO YOU GUYS CAN RELAX NOW!" He yelled into the clearing. Echos bounced through the forest.

More silence followed.

Then someone came out of a nearby house. A man with a frail body came out and stood in front of the team, while keeping his distance.

The man spoke out with a shaking voice. "Do you mean the words you said? How are you so sure?"

Naruto gave him a calm stare and crossed his arms. "Well, that's because we defeated the enemy that was creating those fakes." Then he adverted his eyes. " Or indirectly, you could say." He added in a whisper.

"You did?" The man spoke with uncertainty. "So the imposters won't be harming us anymore?"

Naruto simply nodded. "Those puppets shouldn't be here anymore, so you guys should be going back to how you were before this occured."

"Thank you! Thank you!" The man repeated, eyes watering.

At the corner of his eye, he felt an odd, but familiar presence and saw a figure with blank hair behind the house. He shifted his head and when he did, the presence disappeared.

But not before Naruto figured out who it was.

Naruto chuckled to himself. "I found my first one... And it didn't even take that long!"

**One day** **Timeskip** **(I'm experiencing writer's block I'm sorry ): ) (and cuz I'm lazy)**

"That was a lot of work..." Sakura moaned as they walked. Team 7 had already departed from the town. They had to help out around the village and convince everyone that everything would be fine. The imposter puppets has all disappeared and in their place was the original people.

No one who was replaced had any memory of the past month. The ninja helped out with what the townspeople needed and recieved thanks from the head mayor/leader (I forgot the term).

The mayor had explained the whole situation to them. Apparently the imposters had appeared a month ago, but they had only realized that it was the case a week after. Then the town turned into an every man for himself. They eventually decided that the best course of action was to avoid any more imposters from replacing their family and friends. They had found a way to find imposters; blood. The fakers didn't have red blood because they had white ones. They've been protecting the town from outside contact when the fog settled in, cutting them off so they were unable to leave. That's when team 7 came by.

"They sure have been through a lot. " Naruto sighed. " I'll just hope they'll be fine now."

_**What about that other thing?** _

_Hi Kurama, Nice hearing from you again Where have you been?_

_**Forget that! I'm talking about something else! The presence!** _

_Oh, uh well..._ Naruto exhaled within the mindscape. I kind of know who it is already...

•<>•<>•<>•  
Kakashi

_It really makes no sense to me, how did Naruto know all that before I did? I don't recall finding anything similar to the case with_ _puppets. So I wonder, how did he know?_

Kakashi pondered the many possibilities of this.

 _There is definitely something up with Naruto. Though it just be might that he's naturally intelligent_ _about this, It still doesn't explain some things._ Kakahsi frowned.

_I'll speak to Lord hokage about this matter later then._

Kakashi furrowed his hair with one hand. _Ugh! Everything's a mess in this team..._

 _"_ Kakashi-sensei, are you okay? You look really bummed out." Naruto looked concerned for his sensei.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." Let let out a exasperated sigh. "We should hurry back to Konoha."

"Yeah, we should." Naruto shushined ahead and leap onto a tree branch.

"Hurry up guys!" Naruto smiled down at the group. "Or I'll leave you two behind!"

"Oh no you don't!" Sauske smirked and went in pursuit of Naruto. Sakura ran after then, trying to get them to slow down.

"Well, I could be just overthinking it..." Kakashi said to himself and followed his genin.

**_OMAKE_ ** **_-(Irrelevant to the actual story)_ **

"They sure have been through a lot. " Naruto sighed. " I'll just hope they'll be fine now."

_**What about that other thing?** _

_Hi Kurama, Nice hearing from you again Where have you been?_

**...**

... Kurama?

**You ask where I have been huh? ~Well I was at the Bahamas and then went on to a vacation to Australia and** **Chin--** **IVE** **BEEN IN YOUR BODY YOU DIMWIT! WHERE ELSE COULD I HAVE BEEN?**

...

**...**

_Well so you were_ _sayi_ _\--_

**_DON'T_ ** **_IGNORE ME!_ **

•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•

**This is Naruto :D It sucks ass I know lmao**

**I don't know what I was doing and this was a year ago and its cringe to look at dsjahfld**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm changing the update time to every Monday, like I changed it on Wattpad.
> 
> Wattpad ain't getting a new chapter today, lmao. But y'all do
> 
> Thanks so much for the reads! Next chapter will be the pre-chunin exams :) 
> 
> Next update : Oct 26


	14. Chunin [Ch.3]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Chunin Exams starts

•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•<>•  
Naruto

One day had passed since their first mission and they were getting the details of what was actually going on.

 _Though I kind of know more to the story._  
Naruto let out a sigh as he crossed his arms. His team was standing in front of the Hokage's desk, waiting to hear the full story.

"The town you helped had been used by our enemy, suspected to be the Akatsuki. They had been experiencing imposters in the village, and on a large scale. Many people were replaced by these imposters until someone finally realized that something was off about the people. Then about a few weeks ago, one of these imposters were injured in a construction accident and they didn't bleed the red blood that would have been expected from a

"So according to the other shinobi I sent over with Sauske and Sakura, all they found was this scroll." Lord Hiruzen brought out a scroll and set it on the table. "I sent it to the decipher core yesterday and they sent it back to me with the translation."

He held up a piece of paper to the team and they read it out loud.

" _We're coming for mission 2_?" Sakura stared at it dumbly. "What does that mean?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I think that it means that they're going into action. From what I'm seeing, I'd guess that their 'first mission' was already completed and their commencing on their second mission." Sauske grimanced. "And I get the feeling that their deatination is the Leaf Village."

Naruto stared at Sauske and then at the paper with amazement showing on his face. "You got a lot out of that one sentence, Sauske."

"Well, that was what I suspected as well, Sauske." Lord Hiruzen continued. "I fear that we'll be in battle soon."

 _I see what you did there,_ _Pein_ _._ Naruto smiled to himself. _Thanks for telling me in advance anyways._

•<>•<>•<>•

**Timeskip** **\- one month**

Both Naruto and Sauske had been going on C-Rank missions and sporadically, a few D-Rank missions as well the past month, as well as one accidental A-Rank _(their actual first "_ _C-Rank_ _" mission with Haku and Zabuza. It did happen)_.

Word about their excelling work as shinobi had gotten around the whole village and beyond. The pair were well known for their abilities for a young age of thirteen.

The amount of chakra they possessed, the complicated jutsus they could perform, their Taijutsu, and genjutsu were extraordinary.

Naruto and Sauske were admired for their growth and strength, especially among the younger ones.

The two had grown lots during their training during the month and always kept to themselves when they trained, even more so. Fangirls loved them and always tried to get close to the team, though always never succeeding.

Sauske and Naruto worked especially hard in their training so they could fight independently and sharpened their skills with each other in small sparrings that Kakashi sometimes monitored. During their training, they also trained as a team, getting quite well with working together in battle.

During this month, Team 7 grew strong. Sakura has gotten better in terms of using her weapons, but hasn't done much of anything else _(yet)._

The duo, Naruto and Sauske, were known as Karasukitsune, or Twin K, from their physical features and fighting styles. They were also called the Prodigy Pair. The Leaf Village treasured their abilities as shinobi. Word of this team has spread across the other hidden villages.

And they are still only preparing for the upcoming Chunins exams.

.

.

.

"So what's in the Chunin Exams anyways?" Sakura looked questionably at Kakashi-Sensei. They were heading to the application center. (For the exams)

"Well, you can't be sure. The exams are different each year." Kakashi replies.

Naruto and Sauske just walked along silently, both looking equally bored. Naruto's mind wandered in his mindscape and Sauske yawned.

"Ah...I just thought we could have gotten a heads up." She sighed. "We'll just have to make do when the actual exams come around."

"......which is only one week away." Sauske commented. "We have to do some training so we're ready for what the examiners throw at us."

Sakura pumped her first. "Yeah!"

Naruto lazily replied, "sure."

•<>•<>•<>•  
Somewhere in Konoha  
Naruto

Naruto touched the handle of the door that led to the house of the fourth Hokage. It was strange how he had found the house, like it was somewhat calling out to him, pulling at him.

He opened the door and took a peek inside.

"That's dusty. . ."

He walked in and rummaged around house, looking at photos and such.

Then he walked across a floorboard, which he could tell was hollow underneath.

He bent down and examined the trapdoor.

"Interesting..."

•<>•<>•<>•  
 **Timeskip** **-** **Chunin** **Exams** **(Pre - Exams)**

After their one week of more training, the whole team arrived at the site of the first test. Naruto took note of the features of the building that they were taking their first part of the exam in.

"I wonder what our first test is..." Naruto muttered.

**_A written test maybe?_ **

_Probably._

_"_ Come on, let's go in." Naruto waved them over to the entrance.

They went into the building and started up the stairs.

"We're looking for this Classroom...number 3-B, was it?" Sakura asked.

Naruto huffed. "Yeah, like, they just told us a minute ago."

They reached the second floor and saw a small crowd in front of a classroom marked 3-B. Curiously, they walked over to the small commotion.

"Genjutsu" both Naruto and Sauske said under their breaths.

"The chakara here has been disrupted here."Sakura sensed. "So that obviously not-"

"That's not classroom 3-B" Naruto finished. "I see that the others think so though." Sakura nodded. "It's classroom 2-B."

"I see... They're weeding out the weaker ones, those who aren't perspective of their surroundings, and can't see through a simple genjutsu like this." Sauske concluded. "We should go. Don't tell the other genin here." He headed off to the stairs again. Naruto and Sakura followed.

Team 7 arrived at the third floor, and stopped in front of the real location of the first trial. They silently opened the door.

The room was already deadly silent, and with them opening the door, brought all the attention to them. The trio found themselves at the center of attention, with all eyes on them.

"There's still a lot of people here." Naruto whispered.

"It's expected, I mean that genjutsu was weak." Sauske replied.

Whispers floated around the room as they were finding a place to settle in before their first exam proctor arrived.

"I see that the rumors were true..."

"So that's the Twin K?"

"That prodigical duo, huh."

"Let's see what they're made of in the exams."

"Are they really what the rumors say?"

"We'll see in the exams."

"KarasuKitsune. I see how they go that nickname."

"That duo who's been getting some attention?"

"I hear their fighting style is brutal."

"Heh...they look like a pair of wimps to me."

Many different reactions aroused from the group as Team 7 settled in next to the wall.

The other genin from the Leaf Village gathered around in a group together.

From Team 7, Naruto Uzumaki, Sauske Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno.  
From Team 10, Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi.  
From Team 8, Hinata Hyuga, Shino Aburame ,and Kiba Inuzuka.

Some disputes formed within the conversation between the nine genin and took to some shouts, as well as a few deadly whispers that shut then up.

As there was chattering amongst the Leaf genin, another person walked up to the group.

"What are you newbies doing, bickering like that? You ought to me more aware of your surroundings. This isn't a field trip you know..." The person said.

"Wha-" Ino began, furious with the sudden intrusion into her conversation, but was cut off.

Naruto hushed her when he swept an eye across the room. Other genin from the various other villages were all glaring intently at the Leaf's contestants. They were deadly silent in response to their rowdiness.(still assuming you have read/watched Naruto already. Showing Kabuto's name early)

"The ones behind you there are ninja from the rain village. They have a short temper." Kabuto said. "Everyone's tense before the exams begin."

There was a moment of silence before Kabuto said in a lower voice, with a slight smirk on his face. "I know... How about I give you, my cute underclassmen, a little bit of information then...." He reached into a pouch hanging from the side of his concealed belt. "With these recognition cards." He held up red cards and fanned them out.

"These are cards that hold information burned in by my chakara." Kabuto explained after seeing the confused faces on some of their faces. He held up a card and showed them the face of the card. It was completely blank. "I made them so you can't see the information unless my chakara reveals it."

Placing his deck of cards on the ground, he spun the selected card around. An image faded into existence, revealing a map with green, holographic-like bar that extended up and out of the card.

"This card shows the number of participants in this years Chunin Exams, from each village." Kabuto explained. "Let me ask, why do you think we do the Chunin Exams together?"

Nobody offered a reply to his question.

"First, it's to deepen our relationship with other countries. Second, it's to heighten the level of ninja. That is what they say." Kabuto answered for them.

"That's what they say?" Sauske questioned.

Naruto squinted his eyes at Kabuto. _I wonder what he'll say. He's pretty interesting._

Kabuto's eyes hardened slightly. "Yes. The real prupose is to confirm the level of ninja in each adjacent country to try and balance out the power."

He held out a hand over the card of the map and in a small _poof,_ the image disappeared. Kabuto then continued. "If they don't do that, the weak countries would be invaded and dominated by the stronger ones, so they need to check and restrain the each other's powers....it's just my guess though." Kabuto finished.

Naruto stifled a sigh as he smirked just the slightest. _Just a guess, huh? I wonder what you'll do in the future._

Sauske stared at Naruto's smirk. _I wonder what that smirk of his is about. Ha... what is he thinking right now anyways?_

"So is there anyone you're interested in?" Kabuto asked.

"How about that redhead from the sand? His name was...Garra, right?" Naruto asked. (Their earlier encounter happens. I'll refer back to it in an OMAKE in future chapters)

_**Shooting for the top already, huh Naruto?** _

_Yeah. We are aiming for the jinchuriki. Garra is a good start, right? And according to you, he has the_ _one-tail_ _._

_**Whatever.** _

Kabuto picked up his deck and in one swift movement, swiped a card from the stack. He held the card up. The nine genin waited expectantly in silence.

"Here we go." Kabuto placed the card down.

"Let's see it."Naruto crossed his arms.

He put a finger on the card and it slowly spun around and then another image appeared. "Garra of the Sand. Let's see... mission experience, 8 C-rank and... that's amazing! He's completed one B-rank as a genin...he's a foreign ninja and it's his first time taking the Chunin exams so I don't have much information on him."

Kabuto's eyes did a short survey of the people in the room. "Konoha, Sand, Rain, Grass, Waterfall, and Sound. This year, many talented Genin from these hidden villages have come here to take the exam." Kabuto turned his eyes back to the group. "The Sound Village is a village that was made recently, so I don't have much information on them."

"I'm starting to lose confidence...."Hinata muttered under her breath.

Ino heard her say that, and immediately shot back at her, "It's to late to say that now!"

Sakura stood in-between the two, adding on, "So all the examinnees here are..." She drifted off.

Kabuto confirmed their worries. "That right...not only Garra. All the people here are top elites chosen from each country."

From somewhere in the crowd of people, a genin from the sound hears the whole conversation.

"Did you hear that? They said that the Hidden Sound Village is a minor village of a small country. I'm hurt." His face was plastered with bandages, showing only one eye. His back was hunched and on his forehead, the unmistakable headband of the Sound village.

Another long, black-haired girl stood by their side, also bearing the headband of the sound. "Let's play with them a little then." She glared in the direction of Kabuto.

The bandage-covered person nodded in agreement. "Yeah, they spoke of us as if we're leftover ninja."

They swiftly started moving towards the group. Everyone else in the crowd still had their eyes locked on the leaf, tense but aware of the moving sound ninja. Though, however, made no move to stop then from making their way closer. They maneuvered swiftly between the many people and were too hard to track with their eyes.

One of the sound genin jumped up high into the air and threw two kunai at Kabuto. Kabuto sees the kunai coming, and slides back a few feet, avoiding the hit.

Suddenly, out if nowhere, the bandage-covered genin pops up in front of Kabuto. He held up a hand and readied his right arm for a punch.

In the midst of this action, Kabuto thought _these are the genin from the Sound!_

Naruto knew something was going to happen, that it was going to be more than a punch. In a flash, he was next to Kabuto, grabbing onto his hand, stopping his fist from further movement. Naruto glared at the Sound ninja as they stood there for a few seconds.

He them let out a small amount of Kurama's chakara to give them a feeling of intimidation. The other people who were close enough to feel his chakara paled slightly. Their expressions slacked.

Naruto examined his arm. "Ah, I see... so that's the type of jutsu you use."

Naruto leaked out more of his chakara and the sound ninja felt the intense pressure of his chakara, simultaneously falling down to their knees, their eyes filled with a new kind of fear. But that was only temporary. They got up just as fast as they fell.

"You're not as good as I thought you'd be for a between who took the exams four years running." The sound ninja directed at Kabuto, after recuperating from Naruto's chakara. "If it weren't for this kid here, you'd be dead now."

Satisfied with his showing the Sound Ninja continued,"Now you've seen our power, so write this in your card--"

_They've still got a lot of arrogance even after feeling my chakara. Interesting._

**_To be fair, it's my chakara._ **

_Same difference. Listen, I'm going to send a message to the_ _Aka--_

Suddenly, a big smokescreen explodes from nothing in the back of the room. In the smoke shouts an older voice. "Quiet down! You punks!"

Now the rooms attention was focused on the smoke, as multiple ninja emerged, with a man in the front. He had two scars, one that ran from under his ear to his forehead on his right and a scar that went from above his ear to his chin. His eyes here intimidating as he wore a smile.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I am the examiner of the 1st test if the Chunin Selection Exam, Morino Ibiki."

**• <>•<>•<>•<>•<>•**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No chapter for Wattpad today again lol
> 
> I honestly don't even know what's happening in this story as well :'D
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
> 
> Next update : Nov 2


	15. Challenge (Arc 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First Round of the Chunin Exams

**(Arc 2 - Chunin Exams)**

•<>•<>•<>•  
Naruto

 _I see what he's trying to pull here._ Naruto thought as he tapped his pencil on the table, resting his jaw on his hand, looking very bored as he considered the situation.

Naruto looked up at the proctor, Morino Ibiki, and stared at him with a lazy face. _I've been gathering information on all of the ninja here. I remember his face. His profession as a ninja...if I remember correctly, it wasn't just an ordinary ninja since I remember him at all. Knowing that, it's obvious there's something sketchy going on. Do you remember who he is Kurama?_

_**How am I supposed to know things like that?** _

Naruto scoffed. _True_ _enough._

He looked back down at his paper. The proctor Ibiki had told them that they had 10 points to start off with and ten questions to answer. Each question was worth one point. Getting one question wrong would mean having a point deducted from your original 10 points. Pass or failure will be determined by the total number of points in the three people teams. If one of the members on the team gets zero points, the whole team would fail. Pretty high stakes here.

Naruto swiftly swept his eyes around the room. There were experienced ninja lined up everywhere, watching every applicants' move. If anyone showed sign of action of cheating or something similar to that, will have two points deducted for each act. The had an hour to finish the test, and the tenth question would only be revealed forty-five minutes into the test.

Naruto narrowed his eyes on Ibiki once again. _He also mentioned that we should be exemplary shinobi if we aspire to become_ _chunin_ _._

Then it hit him. He rembered what Ibiki was well-known for. Interrogation.

-

Sauske was staring hard at the questions. He smirked after thinking over the rules and looked at the questions. _I don't understand a single question on this test._

-

With Sakura, she intently read over the questions. _I think that I might be the only few who could actually solve this problem on this room right now! I just hope that Sauske and Naruto know how to do these and not cheat._ She put her hair behind her ear. _This kind of system is practically inviting cheating._

 _They're making such a fuss over this whole thing._ Sauske thought to himself.  
It's like a trick that they're assuming we're going to cheat.

Just as he thought that, one of the many ninja sitting on the sidelines of the room wine down something on his paper.

 _Someone just got nailed._ Sauske thought. _Cheating deducts two points_. Sauske returned his face to his paper. Ordinarily, being caught cheating results in immediate failure.

His head snaps up. He remembered what Ibiki said to them earlier. _"Those who commit akward cheating will bring ruin among themselves. Shinobi should act like exemplary shinobi."_

Naruto and Sauske came to the same conclusion simultaneously. _This test isn't a test of achievements! It's a test of information gathering and concealment! The reason this system is practically inviting cheating is because they actually want you to cheat._

_But to cheat, we are tested on how we conceal that fact we are so won't be caught. That's why we are only deducted two points with each attempt to cheat._

At around this point, some people have already caught on to this whole setup, with Naruto and Sauske among the first few. The other people were using unnoticeable methods of cheating. The whole test room was silent except for the scraping of pencils on paper as everyone was answering the questions.

Naruto had an idea to how he could cheat. Sensing the movements of people who have written.

_Kurama, can you gather information for me using that chakara trick you did before?_

_**Yeah, yeah. Sure whatever kit.** _

_Thanks_.

Naruto closed his eyes and let out a small fraction of Kurama chakara materialized into a miniature fox. It's presence was unnoticeable and could only be sensed by the jinchuriki chakara.

The small fox's form flickered and nodded, before scurrying off to gather information.

Sauske had activated his Sharigan, imitating every hand motion the person in front of him was making.

It was not long before 45 minutes had passed. Naruto had gotten all the answers thanks to the small fox; so had Sauske and Sakura.

It was at this point when first proctor, Ibiki, stepped up to the front of the classroom. Everyone's attention immediately turned to him, since they'd been done a while back.

"I will now announce the tenth question!" Ibiki boomed into the room. "This question is extremely important, and it is difficult to answer."

He let his arms rest behind him as he continued, putting on a stern face with his eyes closed. "There is something I have to tell you before I give you the tenth question. If you get this question wrong," he snapped open his eyes. A sudden burst of nervousness blasted thought the room. "You will fail the whole team and will no longer have the right to participate in the Chunin Exams ever again."

Unsteady silence followed proctor Ibiki's statement. A single unnamed genin among all the applicants shot up from his seat.

"Are you joking?! You can't do that to us!" His voice carried throughout the whole room as other applicants turned their heads towards the voice, eventually agreeing with him. The whole crowd of genin at the desks shot glared at Ibiki as the said proctor surveyed the mood of the room.

"This is my test and I get to decide what I want to do with it." Ibiki stood still, completely unmoving as he let off an intense aura. "So you can get out of this room is you're not happy with my decision. There's always a next time."

The unnamed genin suddenly started shaking, as he dropped to his chair, with the visage of utter fear etched in his face.

A second later, he regained his composure. "Screw this, I'm leaving!" He yelled into the room and stalked out of the room. His teammates trailed after him before slamming the door to the exam room. Another team followed, grumbling on their way out.

Slowly, more and more people started streaming out the room. Until the last of them left, the door was left unattended to as it slammed shut behind the last leaving person.

Ibiki paid no attention to the slammed door as he returned his attention back to the remaining genin. He adressed the remaining genin, "If you do not want to take the risk of failing the last question, you still have time to leave."

He gave them a few seconds to see if anyone would make a move. Everyone who still remained were firmly planted on their seats, determined to stay until the end.

Ibiki studied the looks on the remaining genin.

Naruto also gave a look around. Quite a lot of people had stayed behind. _Somewhat more than I thought._

"I see that you're set on staying. Very well." Proctor Ibiki smirked at the remaining Chunin applicants. "Congratulations! You passed the first phase of the Chunin exams!"

There were murmurs of confusion and excitment all around the room.

"So...we all passed?" Another person asked.

Proctor Ibiki gave a slight nod to the question.

Naruto had to let out a small laugh. _So that was the last question, whether or not we would stay in the testing room._

Sauske smirked to himself. He shot a short glance at Naruto; they were sharing the same thought.

"Well, that was easy enough." Naruto whispered.

Sakura let out a sigh of relief. "Well, I guess we managed to get through the first part of the Chunin exams..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think my Wattpad is ready to strangle me
> 
> No chappy for them this week either, they're prolly really mad lol
> 
> I really don't know about the short chapters, are they long enough?
> 
> Well whatever. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! See you next week!
> 
> Next update : Nov 9


	16. Color

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Second phase of the chunin exams starts.

(Arc 2 - Chunin Exams - pt 2)

•<>•<>•<>•

Forest surrounding Konoha

In a small clearing stood Naruto, standing still with his eyes closed. 

A fox tail and cat ears suddenly materialize in a soundless explosion that came from Naruto's head and around the back of his waist. -(imagine a smoke of light exploding around the areas where the ears and tail materialized. You can see through the smoke of light and his fox ears and tail glow softly.)-

He then held his hands together above one another as he swirled chakra around in between his open palms, creating a small fox. Once he managed to make the creature as solid as he could, before releasing his light-like fox features. Naruto delicately holds the new little fox that now rested in his hands.

Naruto kneeled on one leg as he puts down the chakra fox which rested on his hands. In the moonlight, the fox appeared to emit a soft glow, lighting its surroundings. Once it was placed on the ground, the fox gave him a thoughtful look. Naruto softly returned the look as he gave it a little sack to carry. 

Naruto gently patted its head. "Please, take this to the Akatsuki. It's very important to me." Naruto whispered to the fox. It sat up straight, listening intently. Naruto slowly got up from the ground. "Well I should be going too."

The fox held his gaze for a second before running off into the dark forest. 

_**Kit**_.

_You don't have to tell me. I already knew. Let him see. I trust him. He'll come out._

_**Your choice then.** _Kurama mentally sighed.

Just as Naruto said he would, a person emerged from one of the trees behind him.

Sasuke walked into the small clearing, where only the smallest amount of moonlight reaching his face, making him look somewhat eerie.

Naruto smirked as he turned his head slightly to face the new guest. "What made you come out here tonight, Sasuke?" 

The corners of Sasuke's lips curled up as he closed his eyes and let out a small 'hn' and slightly angled his face to the ground. "Intuition, I guess. Something felt off at home so I headed here, to feel your chakra signature." 

Naruto exhaled and put his hands on his pockets and raised his head. His eyes landed on the moon. "So, how much did you see?" 

Sasuke sighed. "Well everything. I see that there's a lot I don't know about you yet."

Naruto stared at the moon with a blank visage before he started to laugh softly. "Yeah, that's right. But I don't know much about you either, do I?" Naruto smiled, facing Sauske. "Being one of the Twin K, we probably shouldn't keep much from each other, should we."

This time, it was Sasuke's turn to snicker. "Yeah, I suppose so" he finished with an exaggerated breath. He looked back up at Naruto. "So are you going to explain what that light was all about? And that little fox business."

Naruto gave a light smile as he shrugged, hands still in his pockets. "Well, I'll tell you; after the Chunin exams are over."

Sasuke gave Naruto an annoyed look, scrunching his eyebrows together. "Well then, you should get some rest. The second phase of the exams are tomorrow after all." He said finally. "I'll head home now." 

Sasuke leaped and shushined out of sight, back within the boundaries of Konoha Village.

Naruto scrunched up his shoulders and took one of his hand out his pocket and scratched the back of his head, annoyed. "Now to send a message to the 6-Tails...ugh...so annoying." 

•<>•<>•

Sasuke

Sasuke speculated about what he had just saw as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop. He knew that Naruto was sending some sort of message...but to who? Obviously someone who was outside the leaf, otherwise Naruto wouldn't have had to go past the gates.

Sasuke racked his brain for ideas, as he landed on his balcony. Coming up with nothing, he sighed and walked back into his house. Well, I can just ask him tomorrow. 

•<>•<>•<>•

Next day

(Orochimaru is here even if I don't mention him everything happens just like in ep 27, except for the modified parts below)

Team 7 all headed for the forest of Death, where the second round of the Chunin Exams were being held. Naruto arrived early, and was tired, since he's been up all night sending his messages. His form was slumped as he tugged on his scarf. 

................ _Ugh.......I'm so tired.........._

_**Kit, why did you stay up late if you're going to complain to me?!** _

....... _shaddaup_.

Sasuke had been staring at Naruto since his arrival. His glance was curious, yet calculating. Naruto looked really worn.

Sasuke shifted his glance elsewhere after a moment. I wonder what's going on in his mind right now.

Sakura arrived at the meeting location. She surveyed the scene of genin that passed the first phase. 

There sure are a lot of genin gathered here. There's like 26 teams here? Yeah. 26.

Then with sparkling eyes, she turned to her team. With those two, we'll definitely pass this phase!

Their proctor, Anko, showed up (Orochimaru is here even if I don't mention him everything happens just like in ep 27, except for the modified parts below)and explained the rules of the first phase. 

Naruto, however, let his mind wander aimlessly. He thought about the letter he sent to the Akatsuki last night. The return letter should be here anytime now. 

Naruto stared up at the distance towards the gates, awaiting the fox's arrival. 

Sasuke tapped him on the shoulder. "Naruto, are you paying attention? Anko is explaining the rules of this phase." 

Naruto waved him off. "Yeah, yeah.... whatever. I'm just......thinking. that's all"

"Another thing, I won't tell anyone about the small incident last night. Least I can do for a teammate, but I'd like to know what was actually going on." Sasuke fidgeted a bit. "I mean, if you're okay with it."

Naruto stared at Sasuke with wonderment, before smoldering the expression. "Yeah, I'll tell you when the time is right. And it isn't that far away from now." Naruto started heading for Sakura, who had been frantically trying to wave them over. "You're on of the best friends I have. I wish I can keep it that way." 

Sasuke was left standing there, once again, confused. He vaguely heard Sakura talking about two scrolls and pointed at a tent. She tried to get Sasuke's attention, and succeeding when he started to heard towards their general direction. He was speculating about a lot of things at once. 

Sasuke eventually drifted out of his mindstream when Sakura started dragging him towards the tents. 

Naruto sighed. I wish I could tell Sasuke about the Akatsuki. 

He's Itachi's little brother, kit. He wants to kill Itachi. Not a good idea I must say. Kurama explained, frustrated, as if they'd gone over this topic multiple times.

Yeah yeah ..... I know ... but anyways, why do you always pop up at random times?

Team 7 stepped under the stand to receive their scroll from the examiners. Naruto was the one who received the scroll. "Okay. We're gonna to do this. Alright?" Naruto said with a determined smile.

•<>•<>•<>•

The teams were let in at the same time, and each team was assigned a specific gate which where they would be entering the forest of Death.

Everyone on the other teams were on edge and ready to go in. 

Then they all heard a bell. And a voice

"The second exam starts.........NOW!" Anko yelled out so that everyone could hear. 

Naruto looked at Sasuke and Sakura. 

"All right. Looks like this won't be the easiest test." Naruto smirked and walked through the gates, leading his team into the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone save me
> 
> Wattpad will kill me sooner or later
> 
> No chappy for wattpad again this week and i feel really bad:') weird block sucks ass
> 
> I hope y'all have a good night! :)) Its almost my birthday too. Two more days and I'll be another year older :P
> 
> My brain is fried ugh
> 
> See y'all next chapter!
> 
> Next update : Nov 16


	17. Champion (+omake)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Forest of Death has some big surprises... (some may not even be expected)

•<>•<>•<>•

Unnamed Applicant

A team was sitting in a circle with his two teammates, planning their strategy for their survival. It had already been three days since the second phase has started. They hid in the roots of a large tree as they whispered amongst each other. Seemingly agreeing on a plan, the two guys got up.

"Hey....you two....I... I have a really bad feeling about this forest.." The brown-haired girl stuttered as she got up and followed the two guys on her team.

"Don't be such a wimp. Lots of unexpected events will happen, and we gotta be ready for them!" Her teammate said. "We have to be prepared for any attacks towards us, since our teams were put against each other." 

Just as he said it, he heard a fight starting not that far away from them. A few screams filled the forest.

Their team was stopped in their tracks. "U-u-um.....should we be worried?" The girl asked, reaching a shaking hand towards her kunai pouch.

Her teammate was momentarily frozen in his tracks. In that moment, it looked like he realized the situation he was in. "No, we should hide! It sounds awfully close to us right now." He turned tail and ran towards the place they had been before. He waved them over. "Let's hide here until the attackers leave!"

Just as the last member of their team ducked behind the tree, another applicant stumbled out of a bush on the other side of the clearing. He was panting hard, and looked as if he had just saw a ghost.

"I need help...those two are chasing me..." He managed to say, just as he made eye contact with the girl. She was peeking out of the side of that tree, nervous and curious.

But when she heard him, she stumbled backwards and fell on her butt. She looked like she was about to say somrthing, but her teammate stopped her by clamping a hand over her mouth and lifting a finger to her face.

"We don't want to attract the attention of whatever's chasing him." He hissed as he locked his eyes on the person who had spoke to his team member. That genin had turned his back to his team. He appeared to be brandishing a kunai, and was shaking all over, head turning from side to side, searching for something.

The team stared through a hole, staring at the scene in anticipation.

A voice could be heard from overhead. "It is you I see. You have the scroll."   
Then it sounded like the sound's source was stretching. "Which scroll do you have? I'll spare you the beati-"

"I'll handle this." Another voice from the opposite side said, cutting off the other.

The genin the two voices were addressing had been on the ground since they began talking. He was shaking even more.

The other team behind the tree was also listening with anxiety. _Who are the other two?_

A black-haired kid jumped down from a tree, hands in his pockets. He held a hand out towards the genin. "I searched your other two friends of yours. They obviously don't have it. Hand your scroll over."

The genin crawled away and stood up. He held his kunai in front of him. "You'll have to get it from me if you can!"

The black-haired person followed him with his eyes showing slight surprise before sighing and putting his hand in his pocket again. "Hah....that's would I thought you'd say." He shrugged and stared at the him. "Your friends took about two seconds each to take down. I wonder if you'll be any different."

A blond genin landed on the ground next to the black-haired genin. "I bet only one of us is enough to take him down. "

"I know that already Naruto. You don't have to tell me."

The girl strained her memory. The two of them looked familiar. Though it was her teammate that said what she had been trying to remember.

"I think they're that Twin K team. That duo those other genin were making a big deal of in the first phase of the exams. From what I saw in the waiting we can't take them on."

"Sasuke, I'll deal with the other three, okay?" He said.

"Fine. Do what you want." The black-haired, Sasuke, started towards the trembling genin in front of him.

With a single step, Sasuke vanished. He reappeared behind the genin, who was shocked still from seeing Sasuke disappear. In one swift motion, he cut down at the back of his neck with his hand knocking him out.

The team behind the roots widened their eyes, trying to figure out what they had just seen. It has all ended so quickly.

The blond, Naruto apparently, gave a sideways glance towards the team behind the tree. "You guys can stop hiding now. So, do you want our scroll?"

 _Oh no oh no oh no!_ She thought over and over in her head. _They're too strong for us to handle!_

Her team were all sweating, but they got up anyways, to face their enemy. They got into a defensive formation. "We'll fight for it!" She yelled at him.

Naruto stared at the team. "What scroll do you have?"

She stayed still.

"Why should we tell you?" Her teammate replied, yelling.

Naruto turned to Sasuke. "Which scroll did he have?" He gestured at the knocked out genin.

Sasuke pulled out a scroll. "It's an earth scroll." He threw it over to Naruto.

Naruto let out a single laugh. "Hah, finally! The ones we've been getting were all heaven scrolls." He tossed the scroll into the air. Then Naruto started addressing the other team. "So,what scroll do you have?"

She glanced at her team. "The Earth scroll." She stayed in position.

Naruto shrugged. "Would you like a heaven scroll? We don't need it anyways." Naruto carelessly tossed the earth scroll into the air, and stuffed it into his kunai pack. Suddenly an intense aura was let out by Naruto. He lifted his head up with a murderous stare. "But you've gotta fight us for it if you do want it."

Her teammates tensed, sweating all over. They didn't think they could fight Naruto, much less take the twin K on. "Maybe later..." She managed to say. "Let's go guys. We'll find our own scroll."

Naruto smirked. "Well, okay. Let's see if you have what it takes to be Chunin." He folded his arms.

Her team ran.

-

•<>•<>•<>•  
Naruto

"Well, so now what? We finally have the two scrolls. What was it that we have to do now?" Naruto asked, staring at the fleeing team. "I had fun doing that." He added.

"Yeah, I guess for you. We always have to face enemies, and we have to use different tactics, even if you don't like them." Sasuke looked behind him. "Besides, we have to find Sakura. I think we left her behind with the other two guys that were on his team." Sasuke gestured at the unconscious body next to him on the ground. "That should be first priority."

"Man, these people are weak. How are they expecting to become chunin?" Naruto started walking away from the scene.

"Shut up. You know better than anyone that we have Jounin level abilities." Sasuke followed Naruto.

Naruto laced his hands behind his head "Whatever."

-

Sakura meandered in the direction that both Naruto and Sasuke had run off to.  
_They took them down... So quickly! That's my Sasuke and Naruto!_ She squealed into her hands.

She happily walked swished her arms around her side. Something then caught her eye, at the edge of her sight.

Her eyes widened. Another applicant had arrived...

The shadowy figure lunged at Sakura, claws ready to attack, and slice their target.

At the same time, another person is upon them. A leg comes down, aiming at the attacker's head. With one swift movement, their enemy leaped out of the way.

Sasuke landed on the ground in between Sakura and the unknown attacker. "Hey, did that guy do anything?" Sasuke said to Sakura. He kept a relaxed, but battle ready stance.

Naruto jumped down from the tree, fist out on top of the attacker. The figure dodged and swiftly leapt to the side. Naruto glared at them. "Who are you?"

They replied with a laugh as they slowly got up, arms dangling. "There you are.....I've been looking for you..."

Sasuke grit his teeth. Naruto shifted his stance. "Orochimaru."

The face of their enemy was revealed. His mouth opened and a long tongue came out and licked his mouth. He smirked.

He smiled. "Twin K!~"

.  
.  
.  
.

•<>•<>•<>•

**OMAKE LMAO HAVE FUN**

Naruto jumped down from the tree, fist out on top of the attacker. The figure dodged and swiftly leapt to the side. Naruto glared at him. "Who are you?"

They replied with a laugh, as they slowly got up, arms dangling. "There you are......I've been looking for you..."

Naruto grit his teeth turned to Sasuke. "I knew you were popular, but I didn't know you were _that_ popular."

Sasuke stumbled back a step, startled. "That's not--" he sputtered.

"Thanks a lot for getting a pedophile on our tail!" Naruto cut off.

"Shut up! You know full well he could be after you! You're popular too!"

Naruto paused. Then he threw a kunai at Sasuke. "Who are you and what have you done to Sasuke!?!"

Sasuke held the kunai in his hand. He had plucked it out of the air, but he paid it no attention though. "I'm still me, you idiot!" He growled.

"There's no way that the Sasuke I know would compliment people so easily!"

"It's just what you think!"

"Really? Ha! I don't believe you!"

"Idiot!"

"Stupid!"

"Asshole!"

"Emo!"

"Wha- you little shit-!"

"Duckass!"

Orochimaru coughed into his hand. "I'm still here you know."

Both Sasuke and Naruto disappeared in a sudden movement, and was right on top of Orochimaru. Both had tic masks, and a leg out, ready to kick.

 _"SHUT UP!"_ They screamed in union.

Not even a second later, Orochimaru was utterly defeated and on the ground in a enormous crater that had been created from the impact of the Twin K's attack.

The Karasukitsune on the other hand were still bickering with each other.

Sakura sat behind the tree, just inches away from the scene. She had a sweatdrop. Another group of genin had been scared shitless from their showing and had run away not long after the crater was created.

 _I knew that they were strong!!_ Sakura squealed in her head.

Meanwhile..... Orochimaru.

"I see...... So I fcked up." He said to himself from the crater before passing out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Sighs* If only I made the omake canon to this story...  
> But I'm me so I didn't  
> And I'm mad at myself :D
> 
> I forgot to update this on the 16th, fml. My Wattpad STILL don't get a new chapter, and I know they want my head now :').
> 
> It's been a month since a new chapter was written, fuck.
> 
> Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a comment because I love them :'>
> 
> Just hope I don't die next week, and pump out a new chapter 
> 
> See y'all (if you're even there lol) next chapter!
> 
> Next update : Nov 23


	18. Counterattacks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confrontation with Orochimaru, Sakura is realizing her standing.

**(Arc 2 - Chunin Exams - pt 4)**  
•<>•<>•<>•  
Forest of Death

Orochimaru lunged at them, two other ninja tailing him, who had jumped out from behind the bushes. (Both characters canon)

In a second, it went from a one to two fight to a two against three.

Without a moment's hesitation, the twinK started their counterattack. The two of them stood naturally, and their forms flickered in the blink of an eye. Naruto and Sasuke disappearing from view.

With one swift, clean blow to the back fo their necks, Naruto and Sasuke rendered the two attackers unconscious. Both lowered their arms at they turned to their last opponent.

Orochimaru just laughed, a sullen laughter filled with malice."Oh~"

He hissed with a sadistic smile plastered on his face. "I won't be as weak as they were..." And without a warning, he lunged for Sasuke and Naruto. His arms were at his sides, palms facing them and his fingers bent like claws.

Orochimaru slashed his hand in front of him as fast and smoothly as a snake would. The two genin leapt back at least four foot.

Orochimaru pulled out two shuriken on one hand and two kunai on the other. He then ran at Naruto and Sasuke, gaining speed with each step. With a flick of his wrist, threw the shuriken and kunai at the pair with shockingly fast and precise aim.

Sausuke, blocked both shuriken with a kunai he had slipped out his pouch. The two kunai were plucked out of the air and were returned to Orochimaru, with added power.

Orochimaru easily dodged the two kunai,which found a new home in the bark of a tree over three hundred yards away. (The trees were _large_ in this forest)

The two parties stood silently as they soaked each other's presence in. Then they charged at each other - full speed - and became a blur of kunai, fists, and kicks.

Two against one should have held a high advantage over Orochimaru, but the snake time and time again slipped out of their way as they attacked. He was nearly impossible to hit without using any jutsus.

Sasuke further engaged in combat covered for his teammate as he took a short break from the quarrel.

After being a safe distance away he held his hands up in his familiar shadow clone jutsu handsign. All at once, ten clones of Naruto joined in on the fight. Sasuke leaped out of there, and landed next to Naruto, in a crouched position with one hand on the ground and a kunai in the other.

"How about we do that thing with the water and lighting?"Naruto asked.

Sasuke stood up and just stared forward as well, observing the fight of the many Narutos and Orochimaru. Multiple clones had already been taken out. Naruto took the time to make about ten more.

"Well, let's try it. On your mark." Sasuke replied.

The two split up, running in opposite directions. Sasuke leapt into the air as Naruto charged at either side of Orochimaru.

Just as the last clone was dispelled, Orochimaru saw the two young ninja weaving hand signs as they headed straight at him.

Sasuke attacked from above, speeding like a rocket from the boost from taking off from a tree. His feet faced, threatening to kick Orochimaru un the face. (Think a Sasuke squatting with a leg out but falling down.) Naruto stayed low to the ground.

Simultaneously, the two announced their jutsus.(cliché sorry)

"Water style : Water Dragon Jutsu!" Naruto yelled.  
"Lighting style : Shockwave!" Sasuke said with less energy than Naruto.

A dragon's head erupts from the ground right underneath Orochimaru, who jumped to the side to avoid the two's attacks.

Sasuke landed on the dragon, his hand stretched out, crackling with electricity. In an instant, the Water Dragon was covered in electrical currents.

The dragon the dragon's body of water surrounds Orochimaru and eventually catchws him in its jaws. The lighting sparks intensifies as Sasuke feeds the dragon his lighting.

The intensity of the lighting shocks Orochimaru. A minute passes before the jutsu was stopped. It left behind a tattered Orochimaru.

Naruto and Sasuke tensed when they saw the smile under the curtain of hair that sheilded his face from the pair. _This is a_ _sannin_ _we're fighting._ Naruto grit his teeth.

_**Not even a** _ _**jutsu** _ _**like that will be able to keep that man down.** _

_I noticed._

Naruto reached for the two swords that were strapped to his waist at his back. Both were about an inch longer than a typical dagger. He crossed his arms with both swords his hands. Naruto bent his knees, ready to fight when Orochimaru recovered.

Sasuke brought out his Demon Wind Shuriken and held a stance, ready to throw the shuriken at any time.

The Orochimaru in front of them started laughing right before it broke apart and revealed a bundle of snakes, which all slithered away.

Naruto was shocked at the action, but didn't let it show on his face. Sasuke's face scrunched up. They had been fooled.

_**It's been a while since someone has dulled your senses...** _

_Would you at least comment something useful for once??_

_**You wish.** _

"Kura-!" Naruto said out loud, then stopped and closed his eyes. _Focus_.

He sent out a undetectable, thin wave of chakara all around him, attempting to sense Orochimaru anywhere.

He didn't find Orochimaru, but detected something unusual near him. Naruto fwipp d his head to stare at the source.

Of course, it was a snake.

_**Oi kit! Watch out!!** _

Kurama's loud yell slammed into his head and made him lose focus for a second. Suddenly, he felt a small jolt of pain from his neck.

Then intense pain followed. Naruto dropped to his knee.

His hand dropped the dagger it was still holding as his hand went straight to the place where the pain had started.

To his dismay, he pulled out a snake that had been latching on to his neck. He cut the snake immediately in half, then it's body dissolved into ashes. He clutched his neck as he turned to Sasuke, who seemed to be in a similar situation. Another snake writhed underneath Sasuke's hands.

_**Kit-** _ _**you gonna be all right?** _

Naruto grunted. _No. Something's wrong._

Kurama rolled his eyes in Naruto's mindscape. _**Obviously, something's wrong. But what's concerning me is that mark!**_

_What?!_

His head snapped to the spot where the snake had bitten. There was three marks on his neck, similar to the marks in a sharigan.

"You two did pretty well against my clone, though I was honestly expecting a little more from the two of you." A voice said. _Orochimaru._

Sasuke was already on his knees, and holding a spot next to his neck as well, but located on the left shoulder. Naruto's was on the right.

Naruto glared daggers at Orochimaru as he shakily got up. "What the hell did you do...?" He staggered a little. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO US?!" He launched himself towards Orochimaru, disgust filling his eyes.

 _"_ I was toying a bit with you two, you see, testing your abilities. Though from what I saw, I think I can expect that wasn't the extent of your abilities." Orochimaru mused, dodging the sliced aimed at him.

Sasuke got to his feet as well and looked around. _Where the hell is that Sakura?!_

Naruto stopped attacking, as the pain slowly grew. His face was glinted with sweat.

Orochimaru backed away from the clearing, licking his lips with his impossibly long tounge. "Enjoy my little parting gift, twin K..." he left sniggering.

_**Kit!** _

Naruto breathed heavily and then replied. _This isn't good. What should I do, Kurama?_

_**Ask the Akatsuki! They used to be aquatinted with Orochimaru, remember? They might have a clue to what he's done to you and Sasuke!** _

_Oh yeah, I do remember._ Another breath. _Alright._

He turned to Sasuke. "How're you holding up, Sasuke?"

Sasuke grunted. "Not good. I feel like crap."

"Hah... Me too." Naruto dragged himself next to a tree and slumped down. Sasuke on the other side of the tree. "I'll take a nap. Won't do much harm, would it?"

"Yeah it would. People can attack in our sleep." Sasuke muttered.

The two promptly passed out.

•<>•<>•<>•  
Sakura

When she heard Naruto shout, she turned straight back to where she had left Sasuke and Naruto. _I'm sorry! I didn't want to get in your way! Please be ok!_

She ran towards the direction where she had heard his voice. "I wish I could help somehow!" She silently whispered to herself. She cared deeply for the two boys on her team.

A minute later, she was back to the place where she had left them. Only to find them both sleeping - no - passed out.

She knelt between the two of them and she could clearly see that something was wrong. The jagged breathing and..... a mark on their shoulder. She checked Naruto first, and then Sasuke. _They're burning up a bit..._

She grasped her hands like a prayer. _What should I do?_

_What can I do?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me a while to realize that I stopped updating here as well.
> 
> I've gone on a two month hiatus again without meaning to :') 
> 
> F my life tbh
> 
> Okay so if anyone is there, does anyone care for Sasunaru? That seems to be a favourite of this story and a lot of people are anticipating it. But I had not planned for any direct romance in this story.
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
> Well, I'll be posting four more chapter in the next two days to make up for the missing chapters.
> 
> See you next update!
> 
> Next update : Probably some time today


	19. Curse [Ch. 4]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first part of the annoying Curse mark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY HOLIDAYS GUYS HOPE YOU HAD A GOOS CHRISTMAS!! I sure didn't  
> Well whatever, enjoyy

**(Arc 2 - Chunin Exams - pt 5)**

•<>•<>•<>•

Forest of Death

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes and stared at the sky. It was dark and he could see the moon, just sitting there among the twinkling stars.

He laid for a minute, gathering his thoughts before he remembered what had occurred before he fell asleep.

At that, he elbowed his way into a sitting position, and stared at Sakura, who was nearby, holding a rag in her hands, wrincing it out.

Sasuke then spotted Naruto to his left, where he looked like he was staring at something. A piece of paper?

"Sasuke! You're up! How do you feel?"Sakura yelled over, slightly startling the Uchiha.

He looked over at Sakura, who was rushing in his direction. "I dunno, kinda feel like crap..." He said, rubbing at his temples. "How long was I out?"

Sakura kneeled by his side. "Well, I think you've been out for about two hours? Naruto woke up just ten minutes ago. The two of them looked over at Naruto, who was still immersed in that piece of paper. Sakura sweatdropped. "Though since he woke up, he's been weirdly obsessed with that sheet of paper. Haven't been able to get him to rest properly." She sighed.

Just as Sakura said that, Naruto stood up and folded the paper that was in his hands. He held it in front of him and he formed a one-handed _Tora_ hand seal, causing the paper to go up in flames. He calmly walked over to Sauske and Sakura, plopping down onto the ground cross-legged, he gave Sasuke a losided smile as he folded his arms. "Finally decided to wake up, huh, Sasuke?"

Sasuke let out a small 'hmph'. "It's not like you woke up a lot earlier than I did."

Naruto playfully punched his arm. "Haha, shut up."

Sausuke then put his hand on his neck. "So what are we gonna do about these things?" 

"We should be fine. I sealed the power and supressed its contuation of evolvtion. It shouldn't be a problem. Though, letting out large amounts of chakara feeds that mark, so It's better to not do that, to be on the safe side. It could break through the seal like that. Don't realy wanna let that thing taking over your body, do we?" Naruto let out a laugh. 

"Oh, well ok. whatever you say." Sasuke pushed himself off the ground. He felt a lot better than he did about two hours ago. He still felt a bit nauseated. "We should get going. I'd rather be in the finishing tower thatn be out here."

Sakura also got up, gathering all of thier paraphernalia. Naruto followed suit, and in a minute, they were off.

•<>•<>•<>•

Naruto

Naruto was glad that they made it back to the tower without any truouble. Team 7 had made it through the second round of the Chunin Exams. 

That afternoon, the fox that he had sent off to a certain person had come back with a return letter. Naruto had anxiously read through the letter.

_Naruto..._

_It seems that you know I am a rouge. I was drawn to you in that gloomy village, but now I know that it's because both you and I are Jinchuriki. I'm glad that you reached out to me_ _, but I haven't decided to trust you yet._

_I'll meet with you; just send the time and place to me. I trust you know how to find me. I wish you best of luck on your journey to acomplishing your goal, Naruto._

_Utakata._

It was nice and breif, but Naruto had somewhat hoped for more from Utakata. He slunk down onto the couch that his team was allowed in when they had reached the tower. Sakura had gone and taken a shower. The two boys were in the sitting room. Sasuke had walked over to the window and stared outside. Naruto stared up at the ceiling. There was still two more days to this exam, and they were to stay in this tower until the end of the second part.

Sasuke looked over from the window. "I didn't ask before, but how are you feeling, Naruto?"

Naruto put an arm over his eyes. "I'm tired is all. This day has been getting better and better."

_**Liar.** _

_Shut up Kurama. I'm not letting him know._

**_You should._ **

_I'm not sure what he'd do if he found out. That I can't seal away my curse mark..._

•<>•<>•<>•  
Somewhere in Konoha

"Kill these two." Slender, long fingertips placed photos on the table. They looked at the person they were addressing.

"Two kids? They look really young." The man replied. He looked closely at the photo.

One of a blond boy, who showed off a warm smile.

One of a black haired boy, one with a hard look in his eyes.

"How much are you willing to pay?" The man asked.

"10,000." The voice replied

"Okay. So let me clarify. All of you are paying the same amount to me."

A crowd was dead silent in the room. But the shinobi was able to sense their hatred without even thing.

"What is your connection to these boys?" He asked.

"We just hold a grudge towards the blond. The other, however, was requested from another party. I do not know who it was."

The man stared at the photo. "Where do they live?"

The person shook their head. "Currently, they are participating in the Chunin Exams. They should be in the tower inside the Forest of Death. Third floor, room 169."

"Would you mind telling me more about these two?" The man asked. "It would be helpful later on when I plan out my attack. Just some leads is fine..."

"oh, we have all the information you need. Just ask away. There is someone here at the moment with all the information." The other person waved a hand behind their heads. Another person approached. The person stood by the side of the table. 

The person leaned back. "We have some good allies in this matter, and we are very well informed."

The new person at the table stood silently by, and thought of his last order when he came here. _Do not tell them of the Twin K being those two. The common citizens do not know the true identity of the pair yet. That will come as an advantage to us in the future._

_So whatever they ask, make sure to never tell._

"I am at your service under the command of my leader." The man bowed at his two clients.

_Never tell._

•<>•<>•<>•

At night in the tower...

The shinobi dressed in black crept around the tower. Slowly, he approached his targets' room. 

They were two kids, around the age of thirteen. He had no idea why they were targeted, but it very paid well.

Two kids shouldn't be that hard to kill. Even if they were just genin.

The black-clad shinobi slowly crept into the designated room. Inside he found the two kids, fitting his criteria. From there, he raised a long sword that was sheathed behind his back. He'd take care of the blond one first, and then the black haired kid. 

He brought the sword down.

.

.

.

.

The sword connected with the blond's neck.

.

.

.

.

And blond dispersed into a cloud of smoke. 

.

.

.

.

•<>•<>•<>•

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I completely forgot to post again on here, so if there is anyone still reading this, I'm sorry lmao.
> 
> I don't even know what to do with my Wattpad at this point, I think they all hate me a lot.
> 
> Okay so next chapter will be up probably on the 26 or next year. Maybe.
> 
> Next Update : Jan 4


	20. Correspondence (Arc 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto realizes that something's wrong, and the preliminary rounds for the Chunin's Final part.

**(Arc 3 -** **Curse** )

•<>•<>•<>•

Akatsuki

11:23 pm

Naruto flinched and his spine jolted up. 

_His shadow clone._

It had been attacked. Thoughts of a shinobi lingered at the edges as the memories of his clone was absorbed into his mind. Someone had tried to kill him. Or else, his clone wouldn't have been dispersed so easily.

Naruto was sitting midist of the Akatuski base, which he had tried out his special jutsu he had found in the old compund that once belonged to his parents. The Hiraishin or the flying Thunder God jutstu, the one his father had been famous for, was found in the basement library. Naruto had managed to master the jutsu with the help of Kurama, his personal instructor.

Naruto had been regularly visiting his parent's home ever since he found it a week before the Chunin Exams. He had found many things out about himself and his bloodline through the the books and scrolls.[ep-18]

Naruto had been sitting in the living room of the Akatsuki base, in conversation with the whole group. They were mostly all present, but Itachi and Kisame were the only holograms. Konan looked at Naruto in concern. "Is something wrong, Naruto?"

Naruto grit his teeth and held a calculating expression, furious. He brought his hand up to his chin. "A leaf shinobi attacked my clone. I have to go!"

Naruto whipped out his special kunai and closed his eyes. Not even a split second later, his eyes snapped open. This time, with disbelief. "It's gone...."

Konan's eyes were filled with concern. "Naruto..."

"I'll contact you later!" Naruto threw a shard of crystal at Deidara, who caught it and stared at it in confusion. Naruto then rushed out. He teleported to another location that he had kept a kunai.

Deidara shouted at Naruto's disappearing back, waving his hand. "THE FUCK IS THIS??"

Naruto landed in his apartment, which was pretty far from the Forest of Death. He then huffed and growled as he dug in the kunai bag and pulled out another crystal. "Okay Deidara. You there?!"

"OH HOLY FCK NARUTO'S VOICE JUST CAME OUT OF THIS THING" He could hear Deidara's screaming. A loud, amplified thud sounded as it hits the ground

"Naruto?" He could hear Hidan's voice now. "The fck? What the heck is going on?!"

Konan picked up the crystal. "What are you going to do Naruto?"

Naruto gripped the doorknob of his door. He hesitated for a second. "I think it might be time for my Shadow to debut."

•<>•<>•<>•

Forest of Death - Towers

Sasuke

He had been been woken up by a loud sound in the room he was sharing with Naruto. The first thing he noticed was the chakara signature that didn't belong in their room. 

The other thing he noticed was that Naruto was gone. Not a single trace of him around the place anymore. Not even a shadow clone. The shinobi had a sword in hand above the bed, as if he'd already dealt a killing blow. The man appeared startled, and Sasuke used those few moments to ready himself for the potential upcoming fight he faced. 

He grabbed a kinai and faced the enemy. "Who are you?" 

As Sasuke expected, the nam did not answer. He went straight at Sasuke, aiming for pressure points. The two's weapons clashed at high speeds, eventually leading Sasuke to jump out the window in hopes of keeping the building intact and gaining a larger battlefield. 

Just as he swung his legs over the windowsill, Naruto's chakara signature returned....like it just popped into existence. sasuke manuvered the treetops, heading for that chakara signature. His prusuer was still at his tail.

Sasuke clenched his fists. "Well, this is getting annyoingly complicated..."

as he headed towards the apartment Naruto lived in, dozens of thoughts swriled in his mind. There was no doubt; the prusuer's skill, teqnique, and headband; the assassin is a leaf shinobi. 

Or _was._

Sasuke contemplated his choices. If the man pursuing him was a leaf ninja, _why_ would he attack Naruto?

Not much longer, he jumped over the boundaries of the Forest of Death. After about a minute of searching, he found him. In one of the most bizzare situations he'd never thought that Naruto would ever get into.

A villager had an advantage over Naruto, about to slice down. Second time today someone's tried to hurt Naruto.

Sasuke was confused and disgusted by the actions of the two attackers. He wanted to understand the situation.

He charged straight at the villager at top speed and hit him at the base of his neck, effectively knocking him out. Then turned back and faced his pursuer again, finishing him off as well with newfound strength, driven by urge.

Sasuke took in a deep breath. Behind him, Naruto was panting and on all fours. Holding his neck with one hand too...

Sasuke kept his back to Naruto. "Is there something you'd like to say, Naruto?"

Naruto let out a strained sigh."I'm not really sure what's happening either." He stuttered.

Sasuke finally faced the worn blonde. "I have the feeling that you're keeping something important away from me." 

Naruto plopped on the ground, crosslegged. "Don't ask me! I don't recall doing anything that would make someone actively wishing for my death!" he said with an annoyed expression.

Sasuke kneeled next to the motionless bodies, rummaging around their pockets, looking for anything of value or information about them. "There must be a reason why they'd send a leaf shinobi to attack of of their own"

He then felt some paper in one of the pockets, and pulled it out. It was a photo of two people.

One of Naruto 

and one of himself.

Sasuke let out a 'tch' and rubbed his temples. He reached a hand towards Naruto, showing his findings. "Take a look at this."

Naruto held a grim expression as he took the photos form Sasuke. "Well, this is a problem..."

Sasuke sighed and let his arm rest on his knee. He stared up at the sky again. "So what are we going to do now?"

•<>•<>•<>•

Naruto

Naruto wasn't reallly sure what to think anymore. Lots of things were going the wrong way, and it was frustrating him. His curse mark had suddenly acted up as he was running along the rooftops, causing him to loose his footing and fall. Then a normal cilvilian came up to him, who attempted to kill him when he was down.

So many things no longer made sense to Naruto. So many things he wanted to figure out.

Most especially, the reason behind the person that wanted him and Sasuke dead. 

He clutched his head in annoyance.

_Kurama...any ideas?_

**_Not yet ..._ **

•<>•<>•<>•  
Next Day-

Preliminary Rounds  
-  
-

Sasuke was really distracted and really out of it during the prelims.

Naruto was spaced out throughout the whole time the fights progressed.

Sakura occasionally flickered her eyes towards the two occasionally during the fights. _Something's up . . . what should I say??_ Adverting her eyes towards the stage again, she was also deep in thought. What was wrong?

The fights were determined by random draws.

Pairings were made after Kabuto had dropped out, which hadn't caught Naruto and Sasuke's attention at all, and He slipped out quietly.

[All fights canon, except for Sasuke and Naruto fights]

First fight:

Sasuke Uchiha vs Yoroi Akadō.

Victor - Sasuke.

He spaced out a bit, and took out Yoroi quickly. Only using Taijutsu and some genjutsu to distract him.

Even as the judge announced him as the winner, he completely ignored him and walked back up to he balcony viewing area, staring at the ground.

Second fight: Zaku Abumi vs Shino Aburame.

Victor - Shino.

Third fight: Misumi Tsurugi vs Kankurō

Victor - Kankurō

Fourth fight: Sakura Haruno vs Ino Yamanaka

Victor - Double Knockout [Draw]

Fifth fight: Tenten vs Temari

Victor - Temari

Sixth fight: Shikamaru Nara vs Kin Tsuchi

Victor - Shikamaru

Seventh fight: Naruto Uzumaki vs Kiba Inuzuka

Víctor - Naruto

Naruto went hard on Kiba the moment they started fighting. Not even thirty seconds later, Kiba and Akimaru were on the ground.

Sweat still glistened on his forehead, as he breathed in deeply and jumped back up to the balcony, and leaning on the railings.

He held a hand on his neck. _This damned thing ..._

Eighth fight: Hinata Hyuga vs Neji Hyuga

Victor - Neji

Ninth fight: Gaara vs Rock Lee

Victor - Gaara

Final fight: Dosu Kinuta vs Chōji Akimichi

Victor - Dosu

After the five finalists were decided, the genin were told that they had one month to prepare for the final round of the Chunin Exams. Naruto listened to him, assuming it might be important.

Sasuke stared to the side, and at Naruto again.

Naruto looked at the ground.

.

They both frowned at the same time.

.

_Exactly what is he thinking right now?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie I completely forgot this existed so- 
> 
> I'm so sorry to the people who do read this :'D I'll probably be rewriting the first arc and prologue of this story so look forward to that? It might be pretty different since I wrote all this two years ago lol.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed!
> 
> And from the poll on Wattpad, this story will stay strictly platonic SasuNaru and focus on the plot. 
> 
> See you next update!


	21. Couldn't

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto makes a decision, and it might be a bit stupid
> 
> Sasuke is concerned

**(Arc 3 - Curse - pt 2)**  
•<>•<>•<>•  
Naruto

Naruto slumped back and leaned on the wall as he was breathing heavily. His face was covered in sweat again.

He slid down to the ground and sat in a moment of silence in the night scene. The dim streetlights lightly lit up the roads.

"I'm glad I did that..." He sighed. He clutched his shoulder again. He's safe now.

**Kit, you know what you have to do now.**

_Yeah_.... he sighed. _I_ _do._

_A few minutes earlier_

_"_ Sasuke, I want to try something." Naruto tapped his shoulder.

Sasuke aimed and then threw a shuriken at a target in a second, hitting the bullseye. "Yeah, what's up?"

The prelims has ended a few hour earlier. The pair had been out practicing. The moon had risen a while ago. For the most time, they'd been refining their jutsus. Naruto watched Sasuke for some of the time, unsure about how to approach him.

Eventually, he found a good time to budge in.

"Trun your back to me." Naruto said.

"....okay..." He stepped a little to the side.

Naruto put a hand on the back of Sasuke's body. _Okay, so is this how you do it?_

_**Almost. Try a bit harder and send more chakara to his curse mark.** _

Naruto's face strained abut as the curse mark on Sasuke's body slowly seeped into his own. A minute later, he fell to one knee, successfully removing the curse from Sasuke.

The raven-haired genin immediately sensed something odd in Naruto when he turned to see what had happened. "Naruto! What did you do??"

With one look at the receding curse mark did he realize that the presence of the curse mark couldn't be felt anymore.

He clapped his hand on his shoulder in surprise and then glared at Naruto. "You better have not done what I think you did..."

Naruto let out a strained laugh. A small grin appeared on his face despite the sweat on his facd. "Yea, i might've... So I probably won't be seeing you soon, so take care, Sasuke."

Immediately as he said that, he Hirashined. Disappearing before Sasuke's eyes. "That idiot!!-"

•<>•<>•<>•  
Present time

"So how do I get there again??" Naruto asked out loud.

_**I'm not your library! Remember the information that you gather, don't leave it up to me!** _

_Yeah yeah. You're inside me, so_ _what's_ _the difference?_

_**"Kit..."** _

_**Okay fine. Whatever. It should be straight northwest from here.** _

_Okay, how far?_

_**How am I supposed to know?!** _

_You're my Google?_

_**You're hopeless.** _

Naruto couldn't help but laugh at that moment. He finally had a time to relax for a while.

"Well, it's going to take a while before I manage to get there." Me muttered to himself. _Especially when I'm in a weakened state._ He also added.

Just a few minutes later, a pair of hands grabbed him from behind, and dragged him down to the ground. A needle pieces his neck before he could react.

Impossibly, he managed to feel weaker than he already was. Naruto's vision blurred as his head hit the ground.

**Naruto!**

_Hah...my senses are dulled...I couldn't even_ _tell that this person snuck up on me... I sure am popular these days, huh?_

_**That's nothing to be proud about!** _

Naruto let out a small laugh before completely blacking out.

•<>•<>•<>•  
Sasuke

Sasuke wasn't sure what to think anymore.

Things had just up and went downhill.

"That idiot!" He shouted.

_What the hell was he thinking?!_

Sasuke groaned in frustration. He started to rush around the rooftops of Konoha. He couldn't sense Naruto anywhere. That only frustrated Sasuke even more.

He rubbed the skin where the curse mark had been. He clenched his teeth. _This was something we were supposed to bear together!_

_That stupid Naruto!!_

Sasuke frantically swivled his head from side to side. He tried to pick up a trace of Naruto's chakara signature.

He searched all over the village for almost 40 minutes before he stopped. He slapped his hands on his cheeks.

"Concentrate!" He said to himself. "Where could he be?!"

Then Sasuke started walking back home, uncertainty lingering in his mind. "I'll have to try tomorrow..."

•<>•<>•<>•  
Sakura

Sakura gripped her hands on the railing. _What's happening? Everything feels sorta off ever since the Chunin Exams second round. But what is it?!_

She thought longer as she stared into the sky. _Just what happened between those two?_

Sakura heard a sound from the distance and turned to face the noise.

A figure jumped across the buildings and rooftops. A shinobi.

"What's going on do late?"

She stared at the figure. He was heading her way. Sakura tensed a little, trying to prepare herself for what was going to happen.

Just as the figure passed by, Sakura could see him.

Sasuke.

He looked stressed, angry, and worried all at the same time.

"That stupid Naruto!!"

Sakura heard that as he passed by her balcony window, seemingly unnoticed.

Sakura stared at Sasuke's disappearing figure in the distance.

_What happened?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, I forgot like half of what happened in this story and this whole chapter of their relationship development existed and could be used.
> 
> I don't even know what I'm doing :'D
> 
> Help


	22. Concern

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto finds a way to get the Curse Mark off
> 
> he's had better ideas.

**(Arc 3 - Curse - pt 3)**  
•<>•<>•<>•  
Naruto

"Hey, you guys find anything yet? I'm kinda in a bind here?" Naruto whispered urgently into a crystal that had been tucked into his shoes.

"....no, nothing so far..." Itachi's voice came over the crystal. Then a sigh came across the crystal. "I dont see anything about curse marks in these files."

Another voice came from the background. "The next time you try something like that and surprise me again, I'll fking blow you u-" Deidara's voice cut off as if he were being flung onto the other side of the room.

"Be quiet for once!" Konan's voice said after the slamming noise had stopped. "This is important!"

A faint 'fine!' was heard through the crystal.

This crystal was something Naruto had made, in accordance to how Nagato's six paths and the Harashin jutsu worked. Using these crystals, he could connect to different people, however long the distance. Before Naruto had left the Akatsuki after a short visit, Naruto had rushed out in a hurry, but gave one to the Akatsuki.

Around when Naruto came to, he immediately felt the crystal that was in his shoe.

After 5 minutes of explaining, the Akatsuki was able to understand how the crystal transmitter worked.

"Okay, so another thing. Do you know my current location?" Naruto whispered into the crystal. "That info on him should include that much!"

"When you sent that chakara fox over, it only had one dealing scroll. There aren't much more sources

Currently, Naruto was in a strange room, with a bed and all. He had checked around for any exists, but they seemed to be underground. As for the moment, any jutsu cannot be performed in this room.

_It's probably a barrier._

**_Damn. The guy's good._ **

"Should I try to talk to him? Get him on our side?" Naruto asked Itachi, ignoring Kurama. "I mean, I was already planning on that, but like, more."

Itachi simply replied, "Do what you think best. He had once betrayed the Akatsuki before, so I don't know if I should trust him. I'll still back you though, whatever your choice is."

"I'll go for a bargain with him. I have a feeling he's going to come soon."

"I mean, he did bring me to him. I don't have to track him down now."

  
Naruto had been awake for about an hour now. The Akatsuki had caught on with Naruto's story during that time.

The assassination attempt being at the top.

"What are you going to do next, Naruto?" Pein had asked.

Naruto put a hand to the wall. "Leaving."

•°•°•°

•<>•<>•<>•  
Early morning - Konoha  
Sasuke

"Where's Naruto?" Kakashi inquired. Team 7 had gotten together to continue their training and hone their skills as a group.

Sasuke had resolved on not involving other people in their problems. "Well, I think he went on a training trip. I don't really know...." He trailed off. _What is he up to now?_

Sakura, for once didn't make any comments. She just stared intently at Sasuke's face and studied it.

Kakashi observed the two genin in front of him. He knew that the mood had shifted for the worse, but the problem was how to fix it. "Well, are you two still up for training?"

 _Where would Naruto go to train at a time like this?_ Kakashi thought as he turned his back and started walking towards the training feild. _Where could he have gone?_

Sakura gave a reluctant glance at Sasuke before running after their sensei. Sasuke followed afterwards.

_Flashback no Jutsu_ _(ep - Color)_

Sasuke laid on his bed as he stared at the ceiling if his room. For some reason he couldn't fall asleep that night.

He exhaled. _Well, no use trying to sleep._

Sasuke got out of bed and walked to the balcony to get some fresh air. Then he detected a small jolt of chakra that he recognized.

_What's Naruto doing out this late?_

Sasuke ran back inside and quickly put on his ninja sandals so he could follow Naruto over the rooftops.

He walked back out to the balcony, to find that Naruto's chakara signature has stopped moving.

Sasuke jumped over the railings of his balcony and heading to the place where Naruto's chakra signature was the strongest. All he was concerned about was that his chakara came from outside Konoha's walls.

Sasuke manuverd over the countless rooftops as he gradually reached the walls.

Just as Sasuke landed over the walls, a dim light of gold could be seen seemingly sprouting from Naruto. _What is that?_

Sasuke continued watching Naruto as he placed down what seemed like a fox-like chakra mass on the ground.

Sasuke was still deep in thought. He thought it might be best to just ask Naruto himself. He jumped down into the forest and walked out from behind a tree.

_Flashback no Jutsu [Kai] (genjutsu dispelling)_

"What was that anyways?" Sasuke said to himself. He completely ignored the Kakashi who was trying to get his attention.

"What was what?" Kakashi said, annoyed.

Sasuke looked up startled. "Oh sorry, I was thinking out loud."

Kakashi gave Sasuke a calculating stare. "You and Naruto might have had game for a little while, but it's obviously been dying out with your lack of activity. Don't go getting a big head!" Kakashi told Sasuke. "So pay attention to what I'm telling you!"

Sasuke sighed, defeated. "Yeah yeah, whatever." He joined Sakura in their small training, thoughts of Naruto still on his mind. _Just who are you, Naruto?_

•<>•<>•<>•  
Naruto

Naruto had already gotten tired of waiting. It had already been three hours since he awoke.

"Arghhh! I've have had enough of this!"

Naruto stomped up to the door that he couldn't get open earlier, or the time before that. Or the time before that. As expected from the work of a Sannin.

_**Wait-** _ _**I have an idea.** _

_Anything's good right now! What do you have in mind, Kurama?_

_**Switch places with me!** _

_... What?_

_**Just shut up and do it!** _

_I'm not even speaking right now! Geez!_

Naruto breathed out and sat on the bed. _Okay. Go ahead._

_[Switcheroo][Kurama takes over]_

_**"Ah. Okay so here's the thing. I probably have a higher physical ability than you would have."**_ Kurama said to Naruto.

 _Way to compliment your jinchuriki._ Naruto 'tched'.

Kurama just chose to ignore that comment _ **. "Well alright. Here we go."**_

Kurama backed up to the furthest he could from the door and started charging straight as he aimed his elbow as the center and most weakest point on the door.

But as that went down, the door started opening.

Kurama wasn't quick enough to stop himself at the last second and ended up elbowing someone in the face.

Kurama just stayed in position, eyes wide, and slowly turning to see the person they had just almost killed.

He was passed out. Completely knocked out. The frames that were once known as glasses were completely ruined and shattered, pieces littering the ground.

Naruto took over his body again, his body still positioned in an elbow strike. He stared for a long while at the unconscious boy on the ground as he racked his brain for the familiar face.

_Those cards._

That kid from the Chunin Exams.

"You are?!--"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaaaaaaaaaaa
> 
> why did I -
> 
> I hope you survived that better than I did
> 
> See yall next chapter :D


	23. Conjoin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go well and a small flashback

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I find imagining this chapter as an animation to be amusing to read.

**(Arc 3 - Curse - pt 4)**

•<>•<>•<>•  
Naruto

"You are-"

 _ **That four-eyed kid!**_ **_From the Chunin ex-_**

"No his name's Kabuto!" Naruto shot back.

The kid, named Kabuto, started twitching on the ground. He opened one eye.

"Oh he's awake again!" Naruto said.

Kabuto propped himself up with his elbow. "Well I see that you are as feisty as ever." He reached into his kunai pouch and pulled out another pair of glasses, then he stood up. "Hello, Naruto Uzumaki. My name's Ka-"

"Yeah I know already! Are you seriously ok after that elbow jab, Kabuto??" Naruto almost shouted.

Kabuto dusted himself off and punched up his glasses. "Well, so you're not surprised at the fact I am here, and not in the Leaf Village?"

Naruto gave him a weird look, a look of disbelief. "How the fuck am I supposed to know where I am?"

"..."

Kabuto gave Naruto a stare and stayed silent for a few seconds. Then he turned away. "Ahem, lord Orochimaru has called for you."

Naruto grumbled. "That snakey bastard! I was gonna come to him, he didn't have to drag me here!" A sudden jolt of pain came up Naruto's spine and he doubled over. 

Kabuto stared at Naruto. "Is everything okay?"

Naruto grit his teeth. "It's the damned curse mark. Its power doubled. I'm gonna kick that sannin's ass when I see him..."

Kabuto led Naruto through the maze of their underground base. They mostly walked in silence most of the way. Kabuto finally broke the silence after a little while. "You seem to know a lot about us." Kabuto spared a glance back. "Tell me, how did you come across this information?" 

Naruto wore a blank expression, that eventually turned into an annoyed one. "Well, I have a good information system going on."

Kabuto was silent afterwards, and the two finally reached their destination. It led to a big opening for a large underground cave. Naruto scanned the whole area. _No exits I see._

Kabuto kept on walking until they walked to a chair near the end of the cave. 

Then lo and behold, the snake sannin himself walked right around the corner. Almost immediately a tic mark appeared on Naruto's forehead.

Almost immediately, Naruto disappeared from view, only appearing on top of Orochimaru with a fist clocked with chakara and aimed straight at the sannin's head.

Orochimaru easily sidestepped the blow and Naruto punched the ground, creating a crater in the spot where the snake was standing at a moment before.. Slowly, with a glint in his eye, his head snapped towards Orochimaru, his KI leaking out. Kabuto didn't flinch at the showing in front of him.

"Why did you bring me here, Orochimaru?"

The snake sannin chuckled at the irritation Naruto was letting out. "Well, I wanted to see you, Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. You're very interesting, so I wanted to make an offer to you."

Naruto exhaled. "Well actually, I was looking for you as well. I guess I should thank you for saving me the trouble of finding you."

Orochimaru smirked. "Is it the Leaf Village? Did they send you on this mission?"

Kabuto shifted his legs. "No matter what they do, I will stop them, or at the least delay them as much as I can. Naruto, I will stop you if you try and take this information back to the Leaf. My position is still very important in the Leaf."

Naruto chuckled. "HahH!! That'd be nice, only if it was actually the Leaf that sent me on this mission." He turned to Kabuto, one hand on his hip and smirking. "My role in the Hidden Leaf village is similar to yours here and in the Leaf, Kabuto." 

Kabuto tensed a bit at that statement, as Naruto turned back to Orochimaru. "It was more on my own terms, Orochimaru," Naruto smirked.

"But on behalf of the Akatsuki, I would like to officially make a deal with you."

.

Orochimaru's laugh started small, the gradually got louder each second. "Wow!~ You talk a big game, Naruto Uzumaki. But I like that attitude of yours. What is it that the Akatsuki wants from me? If you even are part of the Akatsuki!"

•<>•<>•<>•  
Kabuto

_This isn't good. Something's up. Why is Naruto claiming to be part of the Akatsuki?_

Kabuto's eyes glazed over with concentration. _Sasori... Is this something you had planned?_

He heard Lord Orochimaru start laughing and snapped his attention up at the two figures in front of him.

"--If you are even part of the Akatsuki!"

He flinched. _Goddamnit_. He rubbed his temples.

"We'll cooperate with you if you get this GOD FUCKING CURSE MARK OFF ME!" Naruto practically screamed in Lord Orochimaru's face. Kabuto sweatdropped.

Lord Orochimaru chuckled. "And how would I benefit from this deal?"

Naruto's expression hardened. "Support from the organization you were once part of."

"What do I have give you?" Lord Orochimaru asked again. An amused expression plastered on his face.

Naruto stared down Lord Orochimaru. "You provide us with your information and cooperation."

•<>•<>•<>•  
Timeskip 1 day

"What?"

"Yeah."

"Are you serious?"

"Mmhm."

"So the Curse Mark is really gone?" Sasuke asked, for what seemed like the thousandth time. He wore the look of disbelief.

"Yeah. I got rid of it." Naruto replied, his arms crossed.

Sasuke stared at Naruto with a confused face. "What the hell did you do?"

Naruto glanced sideways at Sasuke, on the tree they had first sat in when team 7 first met for their training. "Well, this is part of the things that I want to tell you one the Chunin Exams are over."

"Yeah, I guess I'll have to wait for you, don't I?" Sasuke smirked. "You better keep your promise."

Naruto chuckled. "HahahaH! Maybe I won't be able to!~"

"Hey!--"

But Naruto knew that his words held some truth.

•<>•<>•<>•  
 _Flashback no Jutsu_

_"Hey, I'm back." Naruto said, waving._

_He had used the Flying Raijin jutsu to get back to the Akatsuki base_ _, so he'd_ _appeared midair and landed soundlessly on the ground. He walked over to the group of S-class criminals that were sitting at the main room of the Akatsuki's base._

_Konan was the first to notice_ _Naruto,_ _then walked up to him. "How did it go?" she asked._

_Naruto_ _smiled._ _"It went pretty well i'd say."_

_Konan gave a good long stare at Naruto, to the point which he felt kind of uncomfortable. "What happened when you were there?"_

_Naruto sweatdropped. "Uh well, I got him to agree to my deal. So that's all well." He patted his shoulder. "I got him to get rid of the curse mark that was here too."_

_"Oh come on! Don't tell me all that work we did was for nothing--" Deidara was cut off by Itachi's glare. "Okay, fine. I won't say anything else..." He turned away and started sulkin to himself._

_Itachi, satisfied, walked over to Naruto as well. "This means that we have his support in the future?"_

_Naruto nodded. "And information. I don't know how reliable it will be, but that's a lot better than nothing." He almost laughed. "Besides, this was something I thought should've been done, whether or not I got a curse mark. Apparently to Orochimaru, he thought that the curse mark would make me want more power. How wrong he was when he found out that I was with you guys."_

_Naruto got a bit serious after that."When that's all said and done, there is still more things that need to be taken care of."_

_Deidara, his sulking forgotten, turned around. "What? There are more things to do?"_

_Naruto_ _pointed at his headband. "We are to assist him in the attack on_ _Konohagakure."_

_The tension in the air grew as Naruto said that. "What are you and Itachi going to do now?" Kisame inquired._

_Itachi said nothing._

_Naruto just smirked a little. "Well, my idea isn't really helping him destroy the village_ _. I found out more about this attack because I agreed to help, but_ _ther_ _e is definitely more going on. The Sound village and the Sand village are working together to start the ambush. Orochimaru plans to kill the current Kazekage and take his spot during the final round of the Chunin exams."_

_Deidara stared at Naruto, eyes, almost at a squint. "Then what do you mean?"_

_"I actually think that we should be the ones who are preventing the damage, as stealthily and secretly as possible. I don't think that Konohagakure falling will benefit us at all. In fact, it might be worse for us."_

_Hidan tilted his head so that it was resting on his shoulder as he sat up in a higher elevation, on a cliff in the large common cave room. "How so?" he asked Naruto._

_"That's something ill get to at a later time." Naruto said, putting a finger up at Hidan's direction. He then turned his attention to Konan and Itachi in front of him. "So that's my plan for now. What do you guys think?"_

_At that moment, Pein walked into the room. "I was listening the whole time, and I think Naruto's ideas are good. Ill go along with it. We won't invest that many people into this project though." Pein turned to Konan. "Do you think so too?"_

_Konan sighed and Itachi stayed the way he was. "Well, its all right... as long as none of us get hurt."_

_"Awwwwwwww mama Konan is wor--" Deidara was promptly cut off by Konan's swarm of origami papers. N_ _aruto sweatdropped._   
  


_"Naruto." Sasori finally said after a long while, even getting Kakuzu's attention. Sasori was sitting in a corner, tending to his puppets. "Since you were at Orochimaru's hideout, did you meet our spy?"_

_Naruto thought for a second, and then he slapped his fist in his palm. "Ooooh yeah! I remember that. It's Kabuto, right? Well, he seems to be our of our reach; your jutsu seems to have been broken by Orochimaru."_

_Sasori momentarily paused in his work before continuing. "I thought as much."_

_Naruto shot a smile at Sasori before turning to Tobi. "Hey, tobi! You've been awfully quiet right now! Is something wrong?"_

_Tobi shook his head. "Tobi is just tired. He wants to sleep." He proceeded to yawn._

_Naruto gave a calculating look at Tobi. "Okay, I'll give you something before I leave." Naruto walked over to Tobi and raised his hands._

_Tobi seemingly stared at the outstretched hand above his head. "This should do it-" Naruto said. He touched tobi's head with one hand as he made a hand sign with the other. Then e let his arms fall after whispering a few words. "Well, that is my parting gift, Tobi. You get to choose your own fate. But I have to get going now. I've been gone for too long. The others in the Leaf village will start to get suspicious." He started walking away. "Well, see you all later!" as Naruto was walking, he gave a wave to the Akatsuki members, before disappearing with his Flying Raijin Jutsu, leaving for Konoha._

_Tobi was left to contemplate his life and his identity._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this :'D I should really stop procrastinating this story lmfao
> 
> Next update : March 8 
> 
> (hopefully)


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